Bold As Love
by MojoMonkey
Summary: HeYa Season 2 RPF. By the time Heather and Naya figure out they feel more than friendship for each other will they be too scared to let it show or be bold enough to let it grow. Sometimes it's not just about falling in love. Sometimes it's about having the guts to do it and hold on to it.
1. Blame It on the Alcohol

A/N: I'm kind of a newbie to fanfic, so I'm sorry if I commit any faux pas, but this will be my first 'feature length' fanfic. For those of you who read 'The Morning After' one-shot, that was the inspiration for this story, even though I won't be using that scene here. I have the whole story pretty much mapped out and a few chapters already written, but I'd still like to keep a dialogue open with readers so if you want to see specific things happen in the future or have any suggestions please let me know. And if you care to, I'd love some feedback. Please let me know what you think.

The title of this story is taken from the song 'Bold As Love' by Jimi Hendrix. Give it a listen. Some of the lyrics might give you a hint as to what themes I'll be exploring, plus Jimi just wails on the guitar solo. I'll also be using music throughout the chapters to soundtrack certain scenes.

This is a HeYa story and we'll be starting off with shooting in the middle of Season 2. This first chapter has a lot of characters and moving parts but I tried to make it as coherent as possible. However, I do apologize if it gets confusing. Though there are a lot of characters in this initial chapter, I want to state that HeYa will be the main focus and endgame of this story. I plan on this story being very long, letting characters and storylines develop properly, so we're in for a ride and I'd be honored to have you all take this journey with me as the story unfolds.

Sorry for the long Author's Note. Now let's get to the story.

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

Bold As Love

Ch.1 Blame it on the Alcohol

"_**Cut!"**_ Eric Stoltz stood up from his director's chair behind the monitor and threw his hands up above his head, clapping with pride. "That was perfect guys. We can call it a wrap on this number. Outstanding!" Almost all fourteen cast members on stage collectively sighed with relief while some gave celebratory shouts amid lethargic clapping.

With a satisfied grin on his face Kevin burst out of his wheelchair pointing at Mark, "My brotha!"

Mark threw his arm up as Kevin jumped to give him a high five. Thwack! "Whoo!" Mark shouted, "and that's how it's done."

Naya smiled broadly at the boy's enthusiasm and helplessly let out a fatigued laugh when Chord walked over to give them a fist bump. Sometimes the three of them seemed like they were in some type of college fraternity. Naya found it endearing but wondered how they could possibly have any energy left after a full week of shooting, not to mention running through the 'Blame it on the Alcohol' number for what seemed like an entire day. Her legs were burning and more than anything she wanted to sit. She plopped down on the white circular couch on stage and let her head fall back as her eyes automatically closed shut. It felt nice to just sit still and breathe for a moment.

On the other side of the stage Heather playfully nudged at Cory's shoulder, "Not bad for a white boy."

"You're just as white as me," he chuckled and crossed his arms.

"Yeah, but I can do this." Heather gracefully spun a full rotation on one foot to see Cory smiling back at her.

"And that's why you're front and center in every dance number while they put me just off frame," he said as he motioned his hands to the side like he was putting a box on a shelf.

Heather giggled and poked at his now exposed stomach. Cory made a sound like he'd just been stabbed and slowly looked down at his stomach. "Tell my ma I love her," he whispered in a cowboy accent and then dropped to the floor with his eyes closed and his tongue hanging out the side of his mouth. He lay there for a few seconds and then popped his head up with a big smile. "See, I can play dead."

Heather laughed with amusement at his ability to turn just about anything into an off the wall joke. For being one of the oldest cast members on set Cory somehow had the most contagious attitude of playful innocence. Heather always felt like she was ten years old again around Cory. They'd even had full out nerf gun battles around the trailers during some downtime on set, which she generally won. But he always made sure to get her back with some type of prank usually involving water balloons or squirt guns.

As Heather extended her arm out and helped Cory up she caught a glint of light shining from across the stage. It was the shiny material of Naya's dress glimmering in the lights as she lay back on the couch. A mischievous grin lagged across Heather's face.

"Be right back," she said, skipping past Cory.

As she approached the couch she gradually slowed her skipping to a crawl and crouched down like a lion hunting its prey. She made her way behind the couch directly behind Naya, steadied her breathing and slowly stood up.

Naya felt her whole body melting into the couch, her face slack and relaxed, when suddenly there was a jolt from her abdomen and her eyes sprung open to see Heather's face above her, laughing like a five year old as she torturously tickled the unsuspecting girl. Her hands immediately jumped up to clutch Heather's arms as she curled her knee's up towards her chest.

"Ahh! Oh my god, stop!" Naya yelped. She couldn't help but giggle spastically.

Heather continued the tickle attack, her smile growing bigger with each passing second, until she saw the girl's eyes begin to water from involuntary laughter. She abruptly stopped and bent down to give a small peck to Naya's forehead before jumping up to swing her legs over the backside of the couch and plop down next to the girl who was now gasping for air.

Naya took a moment to fall back into a comfortable breathing rhythm while her body felt the odd sensation one gets after being tickled breathlessly. The adrenaline was still coursing through her body and she knew it would linger there for the rest of the day. "How do you always get me when I'm least expecting it?"

Heather shrugged and gave a warm smile, "I'm your own personal tickle monster."

Naya poked her foot at the blonde's leg.

Just then, Leo, the 1st A.D., boomed over the bullhorn, his voice filling the entire auditorium, "All right guys. Great stuff. I have an important announcement though so everyone listen up. We still have to shoot coverage for this scene so we'll get that going once camera team is set up. Now I know you all are looking forward to getting out half a day early but Eric wants more coverage and a reshoot on part of the party scene."

Naya slumped further down the couch. "Damn it," she said under her breath.

Heather turned her head to Naya and pouted her lip in a mock sad face.

"So let's knock the rest of this scene out so we can get the rest of the day done," Leo concluded and switched off the bullhorn.

Amber sighed and leaned up against the side of the couch. "I guess this means less time for partying tonight."

Kevin rolled up in his wheelchair waving his hand in mock disapproval. "Hell Nah. We gonna be partyin' 'till dawn," he joked.

The girls laughed at how obsessed Kevin had been with acting like he was in a rap video since they started shooting the episode. He always had an affinity for acting like that but it seemed to be amplified during the past week. As they came down from their laughing Amber turned her attention to Naya. "So which version of drunk Nay Nay do you think we'll get tonight?"

Kevin chimed in with his normal speaking habits, "I'm preferable to badass 'Snix' or superhero Naya." He shot his arm straight up and out like Superman. "The Veiled Fairy," he said in an ominous tone while the girls chuckled.

Naya was trying to speak through her laughter. "I'm not sure. We'll have to see."

"Super Sexy Naya is always fun." Heather gave her a sly grin and winked at her.

The brunette cocked her head to the side and shot a knowing smirk towards Heather. Naya could always hold her liquor pretty well but she never slipped into one specific drunk archetype. She always either filled the void of drunken types present or took on the characteristics of whomever she was around. If someone was an angry drunk, she turned into Snix so she could fire back insults. If someone was a happy drunk, she couldn't stop laughing. When Heather drank a lot she became even more comfortable and overt with her body than she normal was. Consequently, more often than not, whenever Naya drank with Heather they would end up dancing quite suggestively together and/or some light and playful kissing would ensue.

"We'll see. I might need a cat nap before we get all shwasted tonight though."

"Pshh, nonsense," Kevin negated. "You can sleep it off tomorrow."

There was a muffled popping noise that pulsed through the auditorium, which meant the bullhorn was switched on. "All right everyone. Camera Team is set up for the master shot. Let's knock this out," Leo's voice boomed throughout the space. Everyone began moving to first places. Naya breathed a deep sigh and sat up from the couch along with Heather.

"Good thing I tickle attacked you."

Naya gave her a quizzical look in response, not sure where she would go with the comment.

" 'Cause now I know you'll be awake for the rest of shooting. A few Red Bulls and you'll be partying 'till the sun is up."

Naya smiled at how well her friend knew her and took her hand as she led her to their first positions for the shot.

* * *

"_**Cut! Circle it!"**_ Eric yelled from behind the monitor and turned to Leo talking in hushed tones. After a few moments Eric walked towards Matt, "Good stuff man," and patted him on the back.

Leo turned to the cast on stage. "Alright, we're good on Matt's coverage. We're gonna set up the medium shot for you guys next, so take five."

Kevin sprung up from his chair, snickering as he walked toward the right wing of the stage trying not to fall down laughing. He was constantly looking back at Naya as he walked away and every time he looked back he would crack up again.

"See, Bee, this is why we can't be near each other in scenes," Naya called out to him through disjointed laughing.

Harry walked up to stand next to Heather. "What's so funny?"

She took the black fedora with the small red feather off Harry's head. "Just Naya and Kevin laughing for no reason again." She twirled the hat in her hand.

Naya felt bad because Kevin and her had almost ruined the Take with their snickering. Everyone was being extra giddy from having to act like they were drunk and because the whole cast was running on about 4 hours of sleep. It was getting to that point in the shooting day where everyone's so tired that they seem intoxicated. Naya and Kevin weren't the only one's snickering for no good reason. They were almost done shooting the episode and everyone's diligence was wearing thin.

"I got ten bucks on Snix!" Naya heard Mark from behind her. She sauntered over to the white circular couch where Chord, Mark, Jenna, Lea, and Diana were sitting. Naya leaned her forearms on the back of the couch. "You guys talkin smack about me?" she said raising her eyebrow.

Lea continued the flow of conversation, skipping over Naya's question. "I don't know. It's been a while since we've seen Ms. Foxxy Cleopatra come out to play. I think she's due for a comeback"

"Yeah, I'm going with Lea on this one. I got twenty of Foxxy," Chord challenged.

Kevin walked up with a bottle of water. "What we bettin on?"

Naya put a hand on her hip. "Wait, you guys are betting on which of my drinking alter egos I'll be tonight?"

"Just them," Diana piped up. "I have nothing to do with this."

Kevin's eyes popped with excitement. "Oh, my money's on Snix too!"

"Which one is Foxxy again?" Jenna was lost in the conversation.

"Foxxy is super sexy Naya who makes out with people."

Naya shot Kevin a look of embarrassment at his comment. "Bee!"

Kevin shrugged, "What? You do!"

Just then, Harry's black fedora glided in the air towards Naya and landed perfectly on her head. "Ten points!" Heather enthusiastically yelled from behind. She threw her arms in the air and jumped before skipping over to the group.

The brunette adjusted the hat slightly while smiling slyly at Heather. "Thanks. I thought this outfit was missing something." Heather winked at Naya and inaudibly giggled as she linked her arm with hers.

"And Heather's going to turn into an Olympian hat thrower," Diana sarcastically added.

"As long as we don't see hysterical Naya. I don't think I can handle that again," Lea commented

"Oh my God! That happened once! And my thumb got all jammed and fucked up that night. It hurt like a bitch."

"Yeah, except you wouldn't tell anyone about it for like an hour," Mark protested. "Any time someone asked you what was wrong you just did this high-pitched weeping thing."

"Oh that's what that noise was. I thought it was a mouse," Kevin joked.

Taking the opportunity to ease the slight embarrassment of her past hysterical crying episode, Naya scrunched her face and quivered her voice in a high-pitched sound, pretending to weep. Heather pulled her into a tight hug playing along, "It's okay. Basil will save you." Lea and Mark looked at each other, confused by Heather's comment.

"Ah! Great Mouse Detective! Awesome movie," Kevin alleviated their confusion.

Naya pulled back from the hug with an approving smile, "Good one, HeMo." Heather smiled modestly as her hands rested on Naya's hips.

"That's perfect!" Eric walked up from the wing of the stage. "And it goes with Santana's weepy drunk shtick. Naya. Heather. Do that when we go for this next shot. It'll be good for another laugh."

Naya scrunched her chin and jutted her lips out with indifferent approval, "Cool."

* * *

"_**Cut!"**_

"Sorry, Eric," Kevin apologized. "I promise the giggle fits are done."

"No worries. Let's take it back to Matt's line, 'Have you guys heard of alcohol poisoning?'"

Kevin turned back towards Naya and whispered, "You really do sound like a mouse."

She began to snicker. Heather bounced her palm off the top of Kevin's head in front of her like she was buzzing in on a game show. "Don't make her laugh." Naya quickly composed herself.

"Okay. Okay. Sorry." Kevin re-focused and turned forward toward the camera.

"_**And … Action!"**_

'_Yeah driving drunk is dangerous. Any of you guys every heard of alcohol poisoning? It kills about 400 people every year.'_

Naya had her hands on her hips, eyes down to the floor. After thirteen Takes, half of which were blown by Kevin's laughing, Heather could hear Naya begin her now very well rehearsed weeping.

'_Santana are you crying?'_

Naya threw her hands up waving off the concern offered to her. _'I'm okay. I'm okay.'_

She turned away toward Heather for a hug she knew was waiting for her. As Heather's arm wrapped around Naya's back to pull her closer and Naya's arms snaked around Heather's neck, their faces turned at the same time causing their lips to lightly brush against each other.

Heather pulled her head back to let the brunette comfortably hug her. She could feel Naya's face instantly warm up against her neck. Suddenly Heather could see goosebumps on Naya's arms that seemed to appear out of nowhere and the brunette quickly buried her head further into the blonde's neck. Heather became filled with concern. Something seemed a little off with Naya, like she had suddenly become shaken up about something. Heather wanted to do something to comfort her and let her know that her best friend was there for her if she needed it. So the blonde pulled her into a tighter hug and started soothingly rubbing her back.

Because they were best friends in real life, Heather liked the fact that she got to play Naya's on-screen best friend too. A lot of their friendship crossed over on-screen like when their characters would be flirty or joking around. But whenever Santana was written to be upset about something she'd usually turn to Brittany for support and comfort. Heather liked that those scenes were pretty much exclusive to her because in real life, if she ever saw Naya upset over something she'd be the first person there to support and comfort her. Heather hated to see her friends upset, especially someone she was so close with. She always wanted to be the one to alleviate anything that hurt or at least ease the pain. Even though they were acting out a scene, a scene that was meant for a laugh, Heather liked that she got to be the one to hug Naya in these types of moments.

"_**Cut! Circle it!"**_

Both girl's pulled back from their tight embrace and Heather looked into Naya's eyes with worry. "Are you okay?" She rubbed her arms.

"Yeah, fine," Naya blurted out. "It's cold in here isn't it?"

Heather opened her mouth to protest knowing Naya was avoiding the question but Kevin intervened. "Hey I didn't screw up this time!" Naya gave him a faint smile.

Then Leo's voice boomed through the bullhorn. "Alright everyone that's a wrap on this scene. Talent, get to wardrobe. We want to be ready to shoot in Rachel's basement in 30 minutes." Harry, Amber, Jenna and Lea jumped off the stage and raced up the auditorium aisles to be the first to the wardrobe trucks.

"Leo, where's the fire?" Cory shouted from the stage.

"Just trying to get you guys outta here so you can actually party instead of throwing a fake one."

Chord and Mark side glanced each other for a prolonged moment like they were waiting to see who would flinch first before they jumped off the stage and took off down the aisles. Naya let go of Heather and rolled Kevin up and out of his wheelchair. Heather threw her arm out toward Naya who was now out of reach. She was about to ask once again if something was wrong before the other girl cut her off.

"Race ya!" Naya challenged Kevin.

"You're on!" Naya and Kevin jumped off stage to race to the wardrobe truck, leaving Heather with her mouth gaping open wondering why her friend was avoiding her concern.

* * *

Naya was in her tight, form fitting black and blue striped dress with her hips pressed into the back corner of a comfy, oversized chair. She held a red solo cup filled with water close to her chest, her left leg bent under her right, which was fully extended over the cushion and hanging over the edge. She let her head fall to the side and rest on the soft, beige fabric of the chair as she closed her eyes.

She found it odd that she would be so tired today. Normally she had more than enough energy for five people combined. But she'd had a busy couple of weeks. When she wasn't rehearsing, recording, or shooting a scene, she was taking meetings with various music producers, A&R guys, and her manager, working on signing a potential record deal. In addition, she'd tried to get as much songwriting in as possible, trying to hone in on the type of sound and style she wanted to present to them. But she was frustrated. She'd fallen into a writer's block lately and couldn't accurately get out what she was feeling whenever she sat down to write lyrics. Everything just felt forced and wrong. One night during the previous week she actually threw her pen and notebook at her microwave and ended up sitting Indian style on the kitchen floor crying into her hands. Aside from falling in love, which she'd pretty much given up on at this point, a major record deal was one of her biggest dreams. She didn't want to screw it up. The pressure to deliver quality work combined with the frustration of her recent writer's block took a lot out of her.

Naya heard a small 'clink' on the glass of the end table next to the chair as her leg was being lifted slightly. She opened her eyes to see Heather slip in next to her, placing Naya's leg over her lap. Naya extended her other leg across the girl's lap and inched closer to rest her head in the crook of her neck.

The thought to ask her friend what was wrong earlier briefly crossed Heather's mind, but she decided against it. It was probably nothing. She was probably just a little burnt out. Heather knew how much Naya was stressing about her songwriting and getting the record deal on top of all her other responsibilities with the show. She wanted to see her friend just relax for a night and not have to think about any of that. So she lightly stroked her hand from the girl's knee down to her ankle and back up again, leaving Naya with a tingling sensation that shot from her feet all the way up through her legs.

Naya could feel Heather's pulse on the side of her cheek as she curled into the girl's neck. Her entire body felt warm and comforting; their sides harmonizing together in a perfect fit like pieces of a puzzle. For a brief moment, Naya thought everything just felt … right.

"Do I need to tickle you again?" Heather said in jest.

"No! No more tickle monster." Naya glanced down into her solo cup, "I should probably have a Red Bull or something besides water though." She took a small sip from her cup.

Heather slowly grinned as she extended her arm out to grab the energy drink she'd placed on the end table. She held the drink and popped the tab with one hand as Naya chugged the rest of her water. The brunette's eyes widened as she held up the now empty cup.

"Fill me up!"

Heather emptied the drink into the cup as Naya bounced giddily like a kid receiving Halloween candy. She immediately drank about a fourth of it before thanking Heather.

Chord sat down in a huff on the other oversized chair opposite the girls. "You guys know what else we have left to shoot?"

Heather turned to Chord while Naya tended to her liquid energy. "I think Leo said we have a few more filler party shots and we have to reshoot Lea's coverage at the top of the scene. Something about sound being messed up yesterday."

"Good," Chord sighed. "I am so ready for a beer."

"Ahh," Naya sighed with satisfaction as she finished her drink.

Heather turned to her in shock, "Jesus, you inhaled that! Thirsty much?"

Naya smirked at her. "I gotta be ready to get my drink on tonight." Despite the fact that she needed sleep more than anything, she really was looking forward to cutting loose with the cast in some inebriated debauchery. They'd all been going non-stop for three weeks straight. Naya just wanted a night of irresponsible fun with her friends where she didn't have to think about the pressure or worry about the stress. She wanted to throw caution to the wind for a night.

Eric walked up and sat on the armrest of Chord's chair. The director contemplatively stared at the girls for a moment. "How're my fearless party animals doing?"

"Tequila, Vodka, and Whiskey! Oh my!" Heather joked. Naya giggled at the ease with which her friend could make a pop culture or movie reference out of just about anything.

Eric let out a cheerful laugh. "Actually that's incredibly appropriate for my next question. How do you girls feel about body shots?"

"I'm in favor of them," Naya said nonchalantly.

"I voted 'Yes' for the 'Body Shots at Work' law. Too bad it didn't pass," Heather continued the matter-of-fact quality of their joking. Naya laughed at how ridiculously fun a law like that would be.

"Okay. Good," Eric agreed. "'Cause I was thinking we could get a few cut-away shots of you taking a body shot off Heather. Just for some filler footage for the party. Are you girls up for it?"

The girls faced each other for a brief moment and shrugged simultaneously. Heather turned back to Eric. "Yeah! We make body shots look good," she beamed proudly. She didn't have any hesitation or reservations about Naya doing a body shot off her. After all, it's not like they hadn't done that several times before.

Naya however, had to consciously make an effort to make herself seem totally blasé about the idea. Sure, they'd done body shots before but they were drinking. Naya was very much sexually attracted to Heather but she never acted on those impulses beyond their naturally flirty demeanor with each other. As far as Naya knew, Heather had never had any sexual or romantic desire towards other girls, beyond a few curious kisses she had in high school and some playful drunken kissing. The only time Naya ever let her baser impulses through was when alcohol was involved. They had miraculously established a unique and comfortable friendship from day one. Naya wasn't one to trust others easily but by the end of that first week something had clicked that allowed the girls to just helplessly be themselves around each other. It was a precious connection that couldn't be explained and they quickly established a comfort zone with each other. So, as much as Naya'a fleeting moments of sexual attraction begged her to progress to something more physically satisfying, she was always very cautious not to let things slip too far and potentially make things awkward with their friendship. And even then, if things got a little too frisky, Naya and thankfully Heather, would just flippantly blame it on the alcohol. Body shots with Heather were always a major turn on for Naya, causing her to be even more sexually forward and suggestive with her than she normally was. This time it was fake body shots. She was doing this sober. If she got a little turned on and extra flirty with Heather, she couldn't use alcohol as an excuse.

* * *

"Kevin, hand me the salt, will ya?" Naya pointed to the table behind him. He grabbed the saltshaker and swung his arm around to hand it over. Naya was staring at Heather's abs, in all their toned glory, on display right in front of her and she fumbled with the saltshaker almost dropping it.

Heather's lithe body allowed her neck and head to hang gracefully off the side of the table while her chest was sprightly propped up and clad in a pink bra with black polka dots and a black skinny tie that hung from her neck, resting between her breasts. She swung her head up with poise, looking directly at Naya and teasingly bounced her brows up twice. "You ready?"

Naya gulped as she clutched the saltshaker in one hand and almost squeezed the juice out of the lime wedge in her other hand. She could feel the heat between her legs and shifted in her seat trying to make it go away. Lightly giggling, Heather let her head hang down again as Naya waited for her cue.

" '_**Background Action!' 'Sound speed!' 'Rolling!' 'Take 1!' "**_ The clapper sticks made a loud smack. _**"Action!"**_

Chord threw his arm in the air and started fist pumping. Kevin started yelling and hollering, _'Yeah!'_

Chord joined Kevin yelling _'Woohoo!' _amid all the other ambient party noise around them.

Naya made a line of salt up Heather's abs. She brought her head down to Heather's midsection and her nose grazed the girl's soft skin as Naya went to lick the salt. She let her tongue linger there a little longer then she should've. Once there was no more salt left to lick she hesitated for a moment, wanting to taste more of the girl's skin. She brought her body and head upright again and jammed the lime into her mouth, sucking hard, before throwing back the shot, which was really just apple juice.

"_**Cut!" **_

Naya sighed deeply and slammed her eyes shut in frustration. They couldn't use the Take. She knew why he called 'Cut' so quickly. But she blinked her eyes open and turned her attention to Eric, waiting for her direction.

"Let's go again!" Eric called over his shoulder before turning back and speaking to Naya in a much softer tone. "Naya, can you just make it a bit smoother?"

"Sure thing." Naya placed the used lime and empty shotglass on the table behind her where another slice of lime and a shotglass full of apple juice were waiting for her.

Heather swung her head up again and caught Naya's deep brown eyes just as she was turning back with the full shotglass. "You got this. We've done this like a million times. Show 'em your mad shot taking skills." Heather winked at the brunette before letting her head swing down. Naya's eyes traced Heather's body, starting from her chin down her neck and chest to where her breasts seemed to be popping out of her pink bra.

Naya licked her lips then shook her head trying to re-focus.

_Alright, come on Rivera. You're a professional. Relax. This is just a filler shot. No biggie. Just get it done in like one, two Takes and we can move on. _

She took a deep breath and waited for her cue.

"'_**Background Action!' 'Sound Speed!' 'Rolling!' 'Take 2!''**_Smack!_**"Action!"**_

They got three more Takes before Eric decided it was good to move on to the next shot. With each Take Naya's movements became more fluid and smoother the way Eric wanted it. But each Take left her wanting more of Heather than just licking her abs. And she knew there was nothing she could do about it, at least not for a few more hours when everyone would be at Kevin's for their episode wrap/two-day break party. And even then, she'd have to gauge it; how much drinking was Heather going to do? Was she going to have any inclination to even kiss Naya tonight? It always changed. Just because they were drinking, it didn't guarantee that Heather would want to kiss her. Sometimes she just got extra dancey or a bit more flirty and touchy. And Naya didn't want to instigate anything unless she knew for sure that Heather was in that type of mood and felt comfortable with it. Naya wasn't sure if it was the two Red Bulls she'd had or her mounting sexual frustration but she was definitely awake now. Her mind wouldn't shut up.

* * *

"Let's get Naya and Chord in the background please!" Leo shouted across the room.

Naya and Chord walked into frame and over to the beige sofa chair against the wall. They took their places as they had done the day before, Naya sitting on Chord's lap. They were supposed to be making out for the whole shot. As strange as it was for her to do kissing scenes with Chord, she actually embraced the idea of kissing him for the better part of the next twenty minutes or however long it took to get Lea's coverage. Naya always thought Chord was very cute. She'd even had a small crush on him when he first joined the cast, but after a week or so her crush dissolved away. They slowly became good friends and Naya considered him almost like a brother now.

At first, many thought it was an odd friendship. Most people perceived Naya as somewhat of a valley girl, which she slightly resented. Chord had somehow seen through that. He never had any pre-conceived notion or judgment about her. He was one of the few people she'd met that didn't instantly make assumptions and just let her be. Chord was somewhat of a laid back goofball and a good 'ol boy. Everyone perceived him as such. He was down to earth but with a particular brand of flair and humor that Naya instantly clicked with. He was incredibly humble and filled with integrity, trustworthy and someone you could really depend on. He was quite honest most of the time and very considerate of others and Naya respected him for it. Plus, his impressions were pretty funny and quite accurate.

But her fondness for Chord wasn't the reason she welcomed the opportunity to make out with him. At the moment, Naya needed something to get some of her sexual frustration out and lightly making out with Chord might take some of the edge off. She put her arms across his shoulders and her hands at the back of his neck while they waited for their cue.

"We meet again," Chord used his Sean Connery impression to lighten the awkwardness that sometimes came with kissing on camera. Both of them briefly chuckled and any awkward tension between the two of them was instantly gone.

Naya lightly flicked the back of his neck. "Alright, no laughing. This is our last shot. I don't want to be blamed for any ruined Takes."

"Yeeees," Chord said as he let his head bob back and forward again. "I'm so ready to just chill and have a beer."

A thought crossed Naya's mind and she tilted her head to the side. "Hey, you guys weren't serious about those bets earlier, were you?" Naya was genuinely curious.

A combination of slight guilt flashed across his face. "No, we were mostly just joking around. It's just that … dude, you can drink, like, anyone under the table. You hold your liquor pretty well. Better than some of the guys even, which is kind of awesome."

Naya hesitantly nodded her head, not knowing how to take the compliment.

"Aside from the fact that you're a badass, I also happen to know that you tend to hold back when you're around certain people. I don't know, I just find it kind of interesting whenever you do relax and let loose a bit instead of editing yourself -"

Naya opened her mouth to protest but he reacted quickly.

"- which I know you do. Come on, we've talked about this."

She let her mouth hang open for a moment while she thought about his comment and then pressed her lips together, nodding in agreement. He was right. She was always highly aware of herself. Acutely so in professional circumstances, causing her to constantly edit and filter her words and behavior depending on who was present and what the given task was. She was a master at hiding any frantic or tumultuous feelings when the pressure was on, knowing when to let her true feelings show and when to play it cool. It just came with the job. There were too many situations where it was of the utmost importance to keep your cool, remain charming and stay focused, which, if you're having an off day, is difficult but still necessary. So she learned that even if she was feeling like crap, she'd deal with it later and outwardly remain jovial or channel that energy toward something productive. Over so many years in the industry it just became second nature, a natural reflex. That's why she was so good at PR, always expertly and instinctively knowing the most diplomatic and charming way to both answer and dodge an interview question without making it sound contrived or insincere. She only ever truly wore her heart on her sleeve when she was acting, singing, or around her close family and friends.

"Quiet on set!" Leo boomed from the corner behind the camera.

Naya looked up and caught a glimpse of Heather on the staircase. Heather wasn't needed for the shot but was still there in her wardrobe waiting patiently for the scene to be over. A faint but warm smile appeared on Naya's face.

_She didn't forget. She's waiting for me. _

The girls had made plans earlier to hang out at Naya's house and get ready together before heading out for the night. But when the shooting schedule changed so that everyone would be done much later than expected, Naya assumed their plans were canceled and Heather would leave to get ready on her own whenever she was done on set. But she stayed, waiting until the brunette was finished with her workday. Naya loved the little things like that.

"Here we go," Chord whispered.

"_**Background Action!"**_

Naya lightly pressed her lips to Chord's hoping it would alleviate some of this uptick in her libido she'd been experiencing for most of the evening.

"'…_**Take 1!' 'Action!'"**_

Naya tried to keep herself focused on the task at hand.

_Okay. Kissing. You're good at this. Just relax. Chord's not a bad kisser. … Ah hell! Who am I kidding? It's better with Heather. She's the one I want to be doing this with right now. Chord's not bad but it's just … okay it's a little weird. But Jesus, why was being around Heather today such a turn on? We've always been a little flirty with each other. It's not like anything that happened today was out of the ordinary, minus the sober body shot. God, that was such a tease. And the lip graze earlier! What the hell? We've full on kissed before. And we give each other pecks on the cheek and shit all the time. A lip graze should not have turned me on like that. God, I thought my skin was on fire. Stop it! Okay. Focus, Naya. Focus. Stop thinking about Heather and kissing her amazingly soft lips and the fact that she always smells great. How does she do that? She always smells amazing. Ugh! Shit! What did I just say about not thinking about … ya know what? I'm not even gonna think her name. Just do your job, relax, and make out with Chord. _

"_**Cut!"**_

Naya pulled away from Chord as he took a deep breath and relaxed further into the chair. Naya looked up towards the staircase. Heather was smiling broadly at her, wide eyed and with two thumbs up near her face. Naya pulled the corners of her mouth back and looked back at Chord. _One Take down. About 8 or so to go._


	2. The Best

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the first chapter. Reviews are really a great motivator so the more reviews the faster the updates.

Warning: There is a fair amount of cursing in this chapter. You have been forewarned.

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold as Love**

Ch. 2 The Best

Leo cupped his hands around his mouth to shout, "Alright everyone gather 'round." The whole cast and crew shuffled over to the middle of the room in a circle. "Okay, this is an episode wrap for Eric Stoltz. Let's give him a hand for all his hard work." The whole room erupted in clapping and congratulatory shouts.

Eric beamed proudly and waited for the clapping to die down. "Thanks everyone. It's always a pleasure working with this cast and crew. I know it's been a long week but I'm always astounded at the incredible work ethic here." Everyone gave a self-effacing smile, appreciating the compliment. "Now enjoy your two days off! You all deserve it." Everyone threw their hands up once again, clapping and shouting.

Naya excitedly bounded up the stairs, grabbing Heather's hand on the way up, so they could be the first to the wardrobe truck. They put their wardrobe away and changed into their comfy street clothes as quick as they could. Beside the fact that the two girls wanted to get off the lot so they could start their two day break, half the cast wasn't needed for the last few shots and got to go home about an hour earlier, which meant they'd probably be at Kevin's place soon. And the girls didn't want to miss out on any of the party shenanigans.

They stopped by their trailers to pick up the following episode's re-edited scripts that had been dropped off for them earlier in the day, and then headed out to their cars in the parking lot. Naya threw her purse and script in the passenger seat of her car and drove off the lot with Heather following close behind. Heather knew the way to the brunette's house but Naya stopped at yellow lights anyway to make sure Heather didn't get lost behind her. She liked knowing the blonde was just in her rear view mirror driving her old faded yellow VW bug and the idea that they both would pull into the driveway of Naya's house at the same time.

It was around 9:30 by the time Naya unlocked her front door. She lived in a dark green, bungalow style, two-story house. It was just the right amount of space for one person. They walked into the living room area with its hardwood floors and a giant white shag rug. Mounted on the wall toward the front of the room was a large, flat screen TV with black wooden bookcases on either side that extended to the height of the TV, and a coffee table made of distressed wood to match. The coffee table had three red candles varying in size and was centered in front of a plush, oversized black couch with bright pink throw pillows. On the back wall opposite the front door was some decorative art and a door that led to a small extra room, which Naya mainly used for storage and some music equipment. Off to the right was the kitchen and a breakfast nook with a round wooden table surrounded by bay windows. The thing Naya liked most about her house was that the windows let in a lot of light during the day and there was no negative space. There were no walls or hallways separating the living room, kitchen, and her snug breakfast nook area. The only light in the room at the moment was the glow of her computer on the desk against the wall of the staircase leading up to her room. Naya flicked on the lights as Heather tossed her purse and bag of extra clothes on the couch. Naya set her keys and purse down on the coffee table and headed towards the kitchen with her script.

"You go ahead and shower first. I want to look over the rewrites for a sec."

As soon as Naya set her script down on the small kitchen island, Heather swooped in and snatched it away, hugging it close to her chest. "Heather, what the hell? You have your own script."

Heather backed away, putting some distance between them so Naya couldn't grab the script. "You need to relax. No more work stuff for the rest of the night. Don't think about scenes or lines or what you have to record. Tonight is just about having some fun with our friends. You can worry about the other stuff tomorrow."

Naya put her hands on her hips and narrowed her eyes toward Heather. The blonde raised her eyebrows and swayed her hips from side to side. She did look rather cute like that and Naya knew she was right. She shouldn't be worrying about work tonight. She rolled her eyes and softened her face, "Fine."

Heather raised the corners of her mouth in a tight-lipped smile that seemed to stretch from ear to ear. "Good," she placed the script on the side of the island opposite Naya. "And you take a shower first. I still have to decide what to wear."

"How many clothes did you bring?"

"You know me. I can never decide what to wear until the last second. I brought options."

Naya rolled her eyes again and smiled, "Okay, fashionista," and walked across the living room toward the stairs. Heather watched the brunette with a wary eye and waited for her to pass so she wouldn't take the script off the counter. Naya turned her head back as she climbed up the stairs, "Ya know, you probably have at least like five outfits in my closet just from stuff you've left here."

"Ooh, more options!" Heather sprung from the kitchen like a bullet, grabbing her bag off the sofa and bounded up the steps two at a time. Naya giggled at the fact that Heather could go from a logical, reasoning adult to giddy as a schoolgirl in two seconds flat. One of the many qualities she loved about her.

* * *

Heather was in the shower singing quite loudly to a random song she'd made up on the spot about a shampoo bottle. Naya smiled at her friend's antics as she put on her makeup in the vanity area adjoined to the upstairs bathroom. Nothing too fancy. It was just going to be the cast chilling and drinking at Kevin's place so she didn't feel the need to dress to impress. She decided on skinny jeans with a tailored dark green button up shirt with the sleeves rolled, her hair hanging loosely off her shoulders.

Heather called out from the shower, "You're so lucky! You got to make out with Chord two days in a row. And you're getting paid for it! He's a total hottie."

"You got paid to kiss him yesterday too."

"Yeah but not like make out. Ooh! And have you seen his abs?"

"Boy, takes care of his body."

"He's a good kisser too."

"HeMo, I can't believe this. You have a boyfriend, who loves you by the way, and you're fawning all over Chord."

"Taylor's not my boyfriend anymore. He hasn't been for a long time. You know that."

"Hmm. Coulda fooled me," Naya teased.

"Just because we still call each other on a regular basis doesn't make him my boyfriend."

"I'd say calling an ex on a regular basis is grounds for holding on to some type of committed relationship. I mean you've barely dated anyone since."

Naya and Heather somehow managed to have a lot of heart-to-heart talks in the car or while one of them was taking a shower. Heather felt like this was turning into one of their more heartfelt bathroom conversations that they'd had several times before. She struggled to articulate the uncertain nature of her relationship with Taylor. "We're just … we're on a break cuz of the whole distance thing. I mean we can date other people it's just … we're like each other's safety net. I know he'll always love me and he'll always be there. It's … it's complicated. It's like an open invitation if I ever want to take him up on it."

"Still, I'm sure he's at least a little weirded out about you kissing other guys."

"Well yeah, he's weirded out by it but we're not together anymore so he doesn't get a say. Even if we were dating, it's part of the job."

Naya paused for a moment to think about the comment and then nodded her head, deciding it was a valid argument.

"Besides, kissing isn't cheating," Heather added.

Naya was somewhat surprised at what Heather said. "So you don't consider kissing other people cheating?"

Heather popped her head through the shower curtain to look at Naya. Naya paused, her mascara in hand, and shifted her eyes toward the shower.

"A., it was a scene for work. Ryan would fire my ass if I objected to every scene my hypothetical boyfriend wasn't comfortable with. And 2., it's not cheating if it's a harmless kiss." Heather shrugged and closed the curtain.

Naya twisted her tube of mascara shut and paused for a moment. She was intrigued now. She'd never asked what Heather's standards were on cheating. "So it's not cheating if it's just a kiss?"

"Not cheating."

Naya twirled the tube in her hand, contemplating. "So when is it cheating?"

"It's cheating once clothes start coming off," Heather resolved.

Naya continued twirling the tube with her fingers while she stared at the sink fixture for a prolonged moment. There was another question nagging at her but she didn't know how to phrase it. She abruptly stopped twirling the tube and shifted her eyes to the shower curtain. "What about intent?"

The question hung in the air for a moment while Heather took a few seconds to think it over. "That's a whole other conversation."

Naya inhaled a breath, about to ask another question but decided to leave it at that and turned back to the mirror to finish her makeup.

Heather re-directed the conversation, "Besides _I've_ never had a crush on Chord."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"You were all about Chord like six months ago. I thought you'd be a little more enthusiastic about getting to make out with him."

Naya rolled her eyes. "That was forever ago. And it was nothing. Just a small crush you get when you first meet people. He's a cutie but he's just too much of like, a good buddy now." Naya fumbled a bit to try and find the right words to describe how she felt about her friendship with Chord. "He's like a goofy kid brother. It was kinda weird today."

Heather hesitated with her response but decided that her thoughts on Naya's love life needed to be shared. "I was just thinking, I mean, you haven't really dated anyone seriously since Mark. And even that was like, semi-serious."

Naya put her lipstick down and leaned her hands against the edge of the counter, her eyes staring into the sink. There was a reason she hadn't dated anyone seriously, semi-seriously or otherwise since Mark. Every time she met someone she was interested in she'd let her crush play out for a week or so until she inevitably found something wrong with them or got bored. She would always find some trivial excuse to let her interest dissipate and immediately become filled with doubt at the idea of ever finding someone to love and someone to love her back.

_Am I incapable of fully loving someone…like, being completely in love? _She thought._ No! God, that's ridiculous. …But… What am I so afraid of?_

Despite any doubt, she could always feel a small part of her that was kept tethered to the hopeless romantic she truly was, holding out hope for something, someone else; someone to sweep her off her feet, someone she could give the world to, someone she could give her whole heart to. It was a long shot, a fairy tale really. She knew being connected to someone like that was rare but having that connection could make her feel full and complete and the strongest she could ever be. The darker side was that it also meant she would be giving someone the ability to potentially shatter her. If she was going to love someone, she was going to love them with everything she had. The idea of being that emotionally vulnerable with someone, willingly giving them the power to potentially break her heart, was terrifying. But despite all of that, giving someone all of her love and affection and receiving the same of someone else was what she wanted most. She just wasn't going to give it up easily. She couldn't give her heart to just anybody.

_I just…I don't want to get hurt._

Heather knew her friend's silence meant she'd said something that caused Naya's mind to start reeling with self-analysis. Naya was incredibly self-reflective, something Heather rarely did. In fact it was one of the major differences between the two girls. Heather was pretty observant and intuitive of how other people were feeling but she never really spent time addressing her own feelings. Naya, on the other hand, was always so in-tune with her own emotions. She wasn't afraid to break herself down and be completely honest with herself. It was something Heather really admired about her. It took guts to explore the good, the bad, and the ugly of oneself, afraid of what you might find, and learning to accept it. Consequently, it made Naya much more comfortable in her own skin. She was one of the most confident and self-assured people Heather had ever met. But even she had moments of insecurity and severe doubt. Heather was willing to bet that this was one of those moments. She hadn't intended to make her best friend feel bad and painfully wanted to reassure her.

_She hasn't said anything. She's probably doing that deep, over-analyzing herself thing again. I don't' know, she's kinda been a little off all day. But crap, I said something that probably made her feel shitty. Say something! Let her know how awesome you think she is._

The blonde poked her head through the curtain again, staring earnestly into Naya's face across the room. "Nay, you're like the most amazing person I know. Plus you're absolutely gorgeous and adorable. You're a total catch."

Naya shifted her head, looking toward the shower. Doubt was written all over her face.

"You are!" Heather pressed.

Naya's eyes shifted up to Heather's as she slowly moved to the doorframe and leaned against it, giving Heather her full attention.

"You have such a big heart and so much to give and someday you're going to make some lucky person so incredibly happy. You deserve nothing less than the absolute best."

Naya tilted her head down with a small smile to herself before looking back to Heather with indebted kindness. They'd only known each other for less than two years and yet, right from the start, Heather somehow always instinctively knew when Naya's anxiety needed to be eased. She was always there for her. Heather affectionately smiled back before closing the curtain.

_I hope she knows how awesome she is…No, she does. She definitely does…She just needed to hear it from someone else right now._

Naya lingered by the doorframe, staring at the spot where Heather's warm smile had been just seconds before. She gave a deep sigh and returned to the sink area, put some finishing touches on her make-up and sprayed some light perfume before heading downstairs to wait for Heather to be ready.

She grabbed the remote and fell back onto her comfy couch, propping her legs straight out onto the coffee table. She flipped through channels until her mind started wandering through all the things she had coming up for the next week.

There was Heather's 24th birthday dinner tomorrow. Initially Heather wanted to cook a big dinner and have a few select friends over but Ashley, Heather's roommate, insisted on cooking, claiming that there was no way in hell Heather was going to cook a feast on her own birthday.

Then there was shooting the next episode for Glee. Naya knew it was Brittana heavy and had to be sure she brought her A Game. Then her mind drifted to wondering what songs she might have to tackle for the next couple episodes. She missed being in the recording studio, even though it had only been a few days since she recorded her vocals for "Loser Like Me" and "Trouty Mouth." She remembered how when she got the demo she initially couldn't listen to "Trouty Mouth" without cracking up and it was even harder to keep a straight face once it came time to record the track. Everyone in the recording suite had been consumed with uncontrollable laughter and the session had taken a lot longer than it should have. Chord even got a kick out of it at first and then increasingly got embarrassed whenever Naya would call him that, just to mess with him. She reminded herself to call him 'Trouty Mouth' at some point in the night.

Naya let out a deep and resonant laugh and realized she wasn't actually watching anything on the television. She switched it off and tossed the remote to the side, then went to the refrigerator for a bottle of water. She knew there was going to be some heavy drinking tonight and the key to making it through a night like that was water. When she closed the refrigerator door and turned around, sitting there on the island counter was her script for the next episode entitled "Sexy."

Brad, one of the writers, had mentioned to her earlier that day that there had been a few major rewrites done for the Brittana scenes and one of them was going to be emotionally hard hitting for Santana. She remembered his exact words to her were, _"It's a game changer for you."_ It piqued Naya's curiosity and she moved toward the counter, setting her water to the side. She stared at the title for a moment before she picked up a corner of the script, holding the plethora of pages between her fingers and thumb. She tilted her head and ran her thumb across the pages causing them to make a fluttering sound. She did this several times, with her eyes narrowed and staring at the fluttering pages, as she debated in her head whether or not she should take a peak at the rewritten work.

_I want to know what this game changer is. Honestly, they haven't given us much to work with as far as a serious romance goes. It can't possibly be that major, can it? _

She picked up the script with her whole hand, about to peruse the pages, and then quickly stopped herself, setting the script back down and pushing it away.

_No. No work tonight. Stop being such a workaholic. Remember what Heather said. Tonight is just about kicking back and having fun with my friends. I can look at it tomorrow if I have some downtime before Heather's birthday dinner. And I have another full day after that to do a script breakdown and prep._

She picked up her bottled water and backed away until her foot hit the refrigerator door. She sipped from her water while keeping her eyes trained on the pile of mystery pages on the counter.

"You're not looking at that script are you?" She heard Heather chide her from the staircase across the room.

Naya immediately snapped out of her trance. "What? No!" And when she looked up she was captivated by a much more alluring sight. Heather was standing at the foot of the staircase with one hand on the banister. She was wearing tight black shorts that made her toned legs look like they went on for days, with a black form fitting tank top and a necklace that hung long down her chest. She had on her favorite faded denim jacket with the sleeves rolled up, her radiant blonde hair in loose curls cascading down around her shoulders. It was simple and understated but Naya was completely entranced by the beauty standing before her, especially when those blue eyes seemed to sparkle from across the room. "Uh … um," Naya stuttered as she tried to find words to respond with but words seemed to fail her at the moment.

"Nay, are you okay?"

Naya took in a quick breath and relaxed. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine." She held her excess breath for a moment and let it out in a sigh. "Just a little out of it."

Heather was curious but if her friend didn't want to talk about whatever had been bothering her all day then she didn't have to. Heather wasn't going to push it. "Okay…but seriously, you weren't looking at that script were you?"

"No. I wasn't," Naya assured her.

Heather put her hand on her hip, cocking it to the side.

"I promise!" Naya insisted.

The blonde pierced her lips together looking at Naya, intently reading her face. "Okay." She instantly softened her face and leapt off the last step of the staircase like a ballerina.

Naya threw her arm out to her side while setting her now empty bottle on the kitchen counter. "What? You don't believe me?"

"No, it's not that." Heather walked into the kitchen area and leaned her forearms over the island counter. "You're a great actress but I know you're not a very good liar," she said nonchalantly. "At least not with me," she added.

Naya cocked her eyebrow suspecting doubt on the blonde's part.

Heather rolled her eyes. "I believe you! Gosh. Come on, are you ready to go?"

"Just waitin on you babe."

"Woo!" Heather fist pumped her arm in the air, "Let's get this party started!" and excitedly danced her way to the front door. Naya smiled as she admired the dancer's beautiful movements. But then she remembered her own not-so-graceful moment from just seconds before.

_Jesus! What the hell is wrong with you, you gawking idiot? It's just Heather, your best friend. Get a grip, Rivera._

Naya shook her thoughts away as she grabbed her purse off the coffee table and followed Heather out the door.

* * *

Kevin swung open his front door to see Naya putting her keys back in her purse and a giddy Heather bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet. "Git'cho butts in here."

Heather enthusiastically obeyed his request and rushed through the wide open door, planting a quick peck on his cheek as she passed him. Naya affectionately smiled at Kevin's continued attempts to pretend he was Snoop Dogg or something. "Ya know, we already wrapped the episode Kev."

"Yeah well this is the after party. Anything goes," he shrugged and then waved his arm for her to join the party. "Now come on. You're missing a very important accessory. Drinks are in the kitchen. Beer's in the fridge."

Kevin's house was rather large for one person but he was constantly throwing parties and having people over. The main appeal for everyone was that his place had a pool and was kept well stocked with liquor and food. It was also easy to navigate through. Just to the left of the front door was the downstairs bathroom and a staircase leading to the second floor. Directly across from the staircase was the entryway to a large living room complete with a foosball table, lots of comfortable seating and a fully tricked out entertainment set up, including a state of the art stereo system.

Naya shut the door behind her as she and Kevin walked straight forward through the entryway of the dining room. It had a huge table and several cast members had gathered around it, enthralled in a game of 'Ring of Fire.' To the right of the dining room was a large kitchen. As they walked into the space Naya could see out to the pool area through the big sliding glass door at the opposite end of the room. Heather already had a drink in her hand and was next to the sliding glass door, laughing with Diana about something. Kevin put a solo cup on the island counter, which was set up with an assortment of various liquor bottles and mixers, and started making Naya a drink. She walked over to the swinging kitchen door that led to the living room, opened it a bit and poked her head through to see who all was in there. She realized everyone had already arrived. Heather and her were the last to show and everyone seemed to be a few drinks in by now.

"Better make it a double. I gotta catch up," Naya joked to Kevin as she set her purse down on the stool against the wall.

"Pssh, a double is the minimum standard in this house." Kevin poured her drink and handed her the solo cup.

She took a sip and winced at how it burned down the back of her throat. There was definitely more liquor in this drink than Kevin's usual perfectly mixed cocktails.

"Shit, Kev. You wanna make it a little stronger?" Naya said sarcastically.

"Well you said you gotta catch up. I promise the next one'll be smoother."

She peered down into her full drink, shrugged and took another sip.

Heather glanced at the digital clock on the microwave. Fifty-four minutes until midnight and it would officially be her birthday. She thought about doing something small, maybe a special birthday shot, to silently celebrate and mark the occasion. Heather loved birthdays. Any cause for celebration made her happy, but she never made a huge deal out of her own birthday. Since she was young she had a thorough understanding that even though the day might be special for her, it was just a regular day for everyone else, and didn't expect anyone to go out of their way for her.

There was a huge eruption of boisterous shouts coming from the dining room table. Everyone in the kitchen walked over to see what had happened. Mark was bent over in his chair with his chin on the table and his eyes were popping out wide on his face as he was yelling "Ooooh!" Several other cast members were sitting around the table uproariously laughing at Chris. He'd placed one too many cards under the tab of the beer in the center of the table, popping the drink open.

"Shitsticks! Of course, the one guy here who hates beer and I'm the one who pops the tab," Chris said in disapproval.

Mark quickly removed his chin from the table and stood upright, pointing at Chris. "Chin down and drink up buddy!"

"Oh Damnit!" Chris stomped his foot on the ground, picked up the beer from the center of the table and slouched in his chair. "I don't know which I hate more; beer or Cory's excruciating rule." He opened the beer can. "I mean Cory doesn't even drink. There should be a rule forbidding people who aren't playing from making a rule."

"Don't hate the player. Hate the game," Harry said with a broad smile. "Now I do believe your chin is not in its appropriate place."

Chris reluctantly set his chin down on the edge of the table.

Naya was confused, "What the fuck? Why do you have to put your chin on the table?"

Chris's eyes went wide as all his previous discomfort disappeared from his face.

Mark held up his hand. "Wait, are you joining the game?" he asked Naya.

"Yeah, sure," she shrugged.

Chris stood up and pointed back at Mark. "Ha!" he bellowed with satisfaction and turned back to Naya. "You cursed. Chin on the table honey," he said and pointed down with his other hand on his hip.

Now Naya was even more confused. "Okay, someone help me out here."

Amber was laughing in her chair at the ridiculous series of events that just unfolded. Lea was clutching her stomach and laughing in the seat next to her, holding on to Amber's shoulder for dear life.

Diana turned to Naya to explain. "Harry became the rule master and Cory suggested that if someone curse's they have to keep their chin on the table until the next person curse's."

"Oh shit," Naya said, understanding now.

Heather began chuckling with her whole body. "Haha! That's awesome!"

With his hand still on his hip Chris pointed back at Naya. "And you just cursed again, so put that pretty little chin of yours on the table little lady."

Naya complied, pulling up a chair and placing her chin on the table. "But wait, this means I get to curse all I want, right? I mean, until someone else curses."

Amber was coming down from her laughter and gasping for air. "Oh, Lord no. Once you get her going, girl has a mouth like a sailor."

"Which is always entertaining," Chris commented.

"And you still gotta drink your beer," Mark pointed out to him. "Don't think you're getting out of that one."

"Ah Cra-"

Everyone turned to Chris and froze.

Realizing his misstep he quickly tried to correct himself. "-aaazy. That's just crazy." He slumped down in his chair. "I hate beer." He took a sip and made a face of complete disgust at the beer can. "Drinking this should be a felony."

"Okay, whose turn is it?" Harry asked.

"Jenna's," Mark stated. "Pull a card."

Naya saw Jenna pull a card from the pile, which was now at her own eye level. Jenna showed the card to everyone at the table.

"Six is for chicks. Drink up ladies!" Mark announced.

All the girls took a sip of their drinks. As Naya reached for her cup she realized there was no possible way to drink normally or with any amount of grace with her chin stuck on the table.

She contorted her hand with the cup trying to figure out how to drink from it. "Ugh! Fucking asshats! Now I get why this is funny."

Amber and Lea erupted in chortling laughter once again as Naya took the most awkward sip from a cup in her life.

After a few more instances of trying to figure out the best way to drink from her cup, Heather got an idea on how Naya could get around it and found a silly straw in the kitchen for her. Heather sat next to Naya, who was now kneeling on the floor with her chin on the table. Heather held her drink with the straw so all she had to do was turn her head to the side if she wanted a sip.

For the next ten minutes the game continued while Naya took full advantage of her cursing domain, running through a creative and shocking use of expletives including, but not limited to, the use of, 'douchemonger,' 'Bitchcake,' and 'fucknuggets.' Though she wasn't fluent in the language, she even threw in the bit of Spanish cursing she knew. She had the whole table in riotous laughter. Every time Naya cursed in Spanish she did it with her alter ego, Lima Heights attitude. Finally, everyone dubbed her the queen of cursing and the game went on until everyone's drinks were getting light and they all dispersed to the kitchen and living room.

"Okay, what I just witnessed might be the most astounding display of creative and sassy cursing I've ever heard," Chris commented to Naya as she was making her next drink. "I don't think I've seen a group of people so formally addressed as a 'squadron of bastards' before. Remind me never to embark on a verbal assault against you."

Naya smirked.

"So what were those Spanish curse words you used? I may need to take a mental note of those," Chris asked as he pulled out the Vodka and Cranberry juice to make himself another drink.

"Well, 'cabrón' means 'bastard,' and 'pendejo' means like 'jackass' or 'asshole.'"

"What's that one phrase you said? 'May Kahgo' something," he asked waving his hand in the air searching for the correct way to say the phrase.

"Me cago en tus muertos?"

"Yeah! That one."

Naya suddenly stopped and looked at him dead in the face. "For the safety of you and your children, I'm not going to translate that one."

"Oh, don't be such a tease. You know that's just going to make me want the translation more," he pouted as she picked up her drink and headed towards the living room.

She threw her hand in the air, waving him off. "Sorry Bitchcake. I'm not going to be responsible if you get your ass beat with that one."

As she walked through the swinging door she could hear someone playing an acoustic guitar. She wasn't surprised to see that Darren was sitting on the couch, guitar in hand and had seemed to enlist the vocal talents of Mark and Chord. Darren began singing the chorus to "I'll Make a Man Out of You" from Mulan, with Mark and Chord echoing the 'Be a Man' background lyrics with deep resonance, pounding their chest each time.

Naya stood next to Diana as the boys crescendoed the final lyrics of the song. "Oh Christ, Darren's busting out the Disney songs already?"

"You know we've hit a tipping point in the night once Darren breaks out the Disney songs," Diana affirmed with sarcasm.

Heather was sitting on the opposite side of the couch, clapping merrily at the boy's impromptu performance. She loved the many impromptu performances several of the other cast members often gave. People like Naya, Darren, Lea or Chord could start singing or playing an instrument at the drop of a hat. They were much more musically talented than her and she was envious of that ability, of almost always being ready to sing or play a song. But she also didn't get her energetic or creative release from singing the way they did. She always got that from dancing. If she ever had any pent up energy she could always just dance it out. She felt comfortable with movement, surrendering herself to her impulses on the dance floor and never having to think about how they came to her or where they might take her. Dancing always left her feeling exhilarated, content and satisfied.

Heather was clapping the loudest out of anyone in the room and it caught Naya's attention. The brunette made her way to the couch and slipped in next to the blonde. Heather had a dorky grin on her face.

Naya became wary. "Oh no, am I sensing another Disney movie marathon in the works in that head of yours?"

"No, but now that you mention it…" Heather's smile grew wider.

"Oh no. No no no no no," Naya frantically rattled off in disapproval.

"Oh c'mon!" the blonde pleaded. "You know you love our movie marathons. And you like the Disney ones just as much as I do."

"Yeah I like our movie marathons, but a full day of John Hughes movies and a full day of Disney movies are two very different things."

Heather pouted with a genuinely sad face.

Naya knew Heather would get her with that pout she does. "Okay okay, fine. But only if we get to watch Aladin."

"Well of course we have to watch Aladin. It's a classic," Heather said as if it were a given. "And of course you'll have to put The Lion King and The Aristocats on the list too."

Naya softened her face and started to smile. "Aw, how'd you know I'd wanna watch those?"

"Duh, They're your favorites. I mean those three are the only ones where you dance and sing around the house to like every song in the movie."

"Shh, Heather you're the only one who knows about that."

"What? That you dork out hardcore to Disney movies just as much as I do?" Heather was toying with her now, but it was with something she knew to be incredibly true. She thought the fact that Naya was a closet Disney mega-dork was kind of adorable, even if Naya didn't think so.

Suddenly there was an extremely loud clanking noise that reverberated in the room. The girls both shot their attention toward the entryway where the noise was coming from. Cory had a spoon he was beating against a big metal pot and shouting, "Midnight! It's midnight!"

Everyone quickly piled into the room from other parts of the house while Darren, Mark and Chord stood behind Cory in the entryway. They were holding various instruments; Darren with a guitar, Mark with a ukulele, and Chord with a mandolin. A surprised smile appeared on Heather's face as the three boys started playing, their instruments blending well together in the sort of sound and rhythm that reminded Heather of the beach. Just as they began singing 'Happy Birthday' in three-part harmony, Diana appeared out of the kitchen carrying a large cookie cake lit with candles.

Heather's eyes went wide and her smile even wider as Diana approached with the cake and set it down in front of her on the coffee table. Heather was completely filled with joy as she looked around the room full of her friends who were singing and smiling back at her. She was so overwhelmed with the moment that she grabbed Naya's hand and squeezed it tight as if she couldn't contain herself and had to physically transfer some of this happiness to someone else. Naya squeezed back and leaned into Heather, giving her a kiss on the cheek just as everyone was ending the song.

"Woohoo! Make a wish!" everyone shouted haphazardly.

Still squeezing her friend's hand, she took a deep breath, closed her eyes, and blew out the candles. Naya looked on with a warm smile, knowing her best friend felt incredibly loved at the moment.

As the clapping in the room died down, Heather gave everyone their due gratitude. "Aw, you guys, this is great! You totally didn't have to."

"Well it _is_ your birthday," Diana said.

"Yeah, we just wanted to do a little something special for you," Harry added.

"You guys this is so awesome! I've never had, like, a surprise anything on my birthday," Heather said excitedly as she looked down at the cake, which Diana was now cutting. "Hey, how'd you know I like cookie cake?"

Cory was licking some chocolate frosting off his finger that he'd swiped from a corner of the cake. "Well the whole thing was Naya's idea. She said you like cookie cake better than regular."

Heather turned to Naya with a look of complete adoration.

The tanned brunette shyly smiled as if she didn't know how to take the recognition. "Yeah, I had this whole elaborate surprise party thing planned but that all got botched when we had to work so late today."

Heather hung her mouth gaping open as if in complete shock and practically tackled Naya onto the couch in a tight hug. The blonde wasn't entirely used to any sort of gesture, grand or otherwise, made to make her feel extra special. Even Taylor had dialed down on that type of thing after high school. So Heather greatly appreciated the little things and, given the unexpected show of kindness, she felt compelled to give excessive affection to her friend who was so big-hearted as to go to such lengths, just to give her an unsolicited moment of happiness.

Naya laughed at her friend's elated outburst and wrapped her arms around the blonde's waist. "Happy Birthday, HeMo."

Heather loosened her grip around the girl and enthusiastically pressed her lips to her cheek for a big kiss followed by a peppering of quick, small kisses. "You're the best!"

Naya was beaming as her friend released her and they sat upright again. "Well guys, I think she likes it."

"Like it? I love it!" Heather bounced sitting on the edge of the couch as she swiped some frosting from the cake with her finger.

"Although, the military style sound-off was a bit overzealous," Naya jokingly teased Cory.

He was now stuffing his face with a slice of cookie cake. "Well it got everyone's attention, didn't it?"

"Aw Crap! Did I miss the surprise?" Ashley, Heather's roommate, was standing in the entryway of the living room, seemingly out of breath and holding a bottle of Patrón.

"Awesome! You made it." Naya was glad another one of Heather's close friends could be here for this.

"Ashley!" The birthday girl's high spirits were only getting higher. "Whoa, you were in on this too?"

Ashley was still trying to catch her breath. "Well I was supposed to come out for the whole surprise party shindig but you guys and your shooting schedule decided that, apparently you don't work enough." Ashley took another deep breath trying to steady herself. "Then the Indian guy at the liquor store decided that he doesn't speak English today and took forever to check me out."

Kevin came out of the kitchen with half a lime in his hand. "Ashley, you're here! You got the tequila right?"

She took one last deep breath and held up the Patrón bottle high in the air. "Hell yeah! Birthday shots!"

Heather was effortlessly laughing as she pulled two pieces of cookie cake out, handing one to Naya.

Naya could see the laughter and happiness in Heather's eyes. It made Naya helplessly smile to see her best friend so happy, knowing that she had done something to be the cause of that happiness.

* * *

I'm going to try and have the next chapter up in a few days. In the meantime, if you are so inclined, please leave a review!


	3. Don't Hold Back

A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed the last chapter. If there was any confusion, I just want to state that HeYa is endgame in this story. It's just going to be a bit of a rollercoaster ride getting there.

There's also a flashback in this chapter that will hopefully explain a bit of Naya's past relationship with Mark. Their conversation in the flashback might also partly explain some of the theory in which I'm operating on in this story.

Also, I'll be using music from time to time, either physically in the chapter, or to set the tone or atmosphere for specific chapters and scenes. The song featured in the scene at the end of this chapter is "Drive By" by Train. The song is meant to start at the line "Just as Naya started to lean in…"

Don't know if this'll work but here's the youtube address for the song. Just put youtube in front of it - .com/watch?v=KrWI-9GTHKM

Warning: Is there a T and a half rating? Because this chapter isn't deserving of a full M but I think it's a little more than a T. You get the idea.

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

Bold As Love

Ch.3 Don't Hold Back

Naya was sitting in a chair out by the deck of the pool letting the cool night air wash over her. After a few shots and an hour or so of playing poker she'd created a nice buzz for herself but knew she was getting close to her limit. Another drink would probably send her over the edge and she stepped outside to slow down for a minute, trying to regain some soberness from the pulsing energy inside.

Mark opened the sliding glass door and walked outside with his phone in his hand. It sounded like everyone was making good use of Kevin's stereo system because Naya could hear the thumping bass of the music reverberate out of the house. Mark walked up to where she was sitting and pulled up a chair beside her.

"You being anti-social?"

"Nah, just taking a breather for a minute."

"Yeah, same here. That Patrón is gonna knock me on my ass later. Plus, I told Maddie I'd give her a call before things got crazy tonight."

She let out a small laugh. "You are so whipped!"

"I'd rather be whipped than nothing at all," Mark smiled back and shrugged as if it was nothing to be fazed about.

Naya gave an apologetic smile. "I'm really glad things are working out for you two. It's nice to see you so happy."

"Yeah, it took a while to get there but things are good now."

A memory flashed through Naya's mind of a conversation they'd had months ago when he first told her about Maddie. The night he opened up to her about Maddie was the night she considered to be the start of their real friendship.

* * *

_About Ten Months Ago_

_Naya was sitting in the high top chair of Mark's kitchen counter opening her take out box of Chicken Lo Mein. She wasn't terribly hungry but Mark had paid for take out tonight so she picked at it a bit while he was on the phone in the other room. Whatever she didn't finish she could just keep at his place until the next time she was over. _

_He entered the kitchen with a deep sigh and put his phone on the table. He seemed to be distracted, deep in thought, with a solemn look on his face as he stared down at his take out he was opening. _

"_You okay?" Naya asked._

_No answer._

"_You wanna watch a movie or something?" _

_Still no answer._

"_Mark?"_

_He snapped out of his daze. "What? Oh, sorry. What'd you say?"_

"_Are you okay?" Naya spoke softly. "You seem distracted."_

"_Yeah, yeah. Ya know, long day. Guess I'm just a little tired," he said rubbing the back of his neck._

_Naya walked over to him putting her hand and chin on his shoulder as he wrapped his arm around her waist. "I'm tired too. Why don't we just relax and watch a movie or something tonight?"_

"_Yeah, ya know I'm not even that hungry." He pushed his uneaten take out away. "A movie sounds good."_

_She faintly smiled and gently took his hand as she led him to the living room. _

_They decided to watch 'High Fidelity.' Naya was a big fan of John Cusack and it was one of Mark's favorite movies. He'd seen it so many times that he could easily quote most of the movie and didn't really have to pay attention, which was good because his mind was completely elsewhere._

_Naya could sense that Mark was a little off tonight. He could actually be tired but she thought it might have to do with something else. He had been really distant lately. They'd been dating for about five months so far. It was an obvious hook-up. There had definitely been some chemistry there from the start and after a while of constantly being around each other on set it was a natural progression that they would start hooking up in their trailers. They both got along well together, plus, the sex was decent if not good, so they decided to take it passed casual fun and try something a little more serious. _

_He had sort of a solid, 'down-home' quality about him that she hadn't seen in anyone else she'd dated. He was a great boyfriend. He knew the protocol on how to treat a woman well and she genuinely liked him. They were the pairing that everyone expected and to some extent Naya just sort of went with it out of convenience. She truly did care about him but she never had that 'head-over-heels' feeling. She thought he might feel the same way too and always had a small suspicion that he was holding back, not fully letting her in. Not that he didn't genuinely care about her, but the spark they initially had never turned into a flame. _

_Mark had his arm resting on the back of the couch behind Naya. She lightly tugged at the center of his shirt, pulling her body closer to him and rested her head on his shoulder. He breathed a deep sigh and continued to stare blankly at the television. Naya was physically close to him but she could tell that he wasn't really there. His thoughts were off somewhere else. He got a little introspective at times, just like her, and it generally caused him to shut himself off to people and crawl into his own little world. She knew that feeling all too well and whenever she got that way she generally preferred to be left alone._

_She rubbed lightly at his stomach. "Ya know, if you're tired we don't have to stay up and watch this. It's cool. I can go and you can go to sleep if you want."_

_Mark slowly removed his arm from behind Naya and sat forward on the couch with his elbows on his knees. He grabbed the remote and paused the movie. Naya placed her hand on his back, between his shoulder blades._

"_We need to talk," he quietly said while turning his head back to make eye contact with her._

"_O-Okay." She removed her hand from his back as they both readjusted themselves on the couch so they could sit facing each other. "What's on your mind?"_

_His eyes darted back and forth a bit until he looked down at his fidgeting hands. He looked like he was struggling to figure out how to start this conversation. "Do you— Do we— I—." He took a breath to calm himself and then looked back to Naya with a little more confidence. "Where do you see us going?"_

_Naya was a little surprised. She hadn't expected it to be one of those conversations. She cleared her throat and responded. "Well, um…I don't know. I guess I'm just taking it one day at a time."_

"_And how's that going for you?" He was looking intently at her, trying to read her face._

_Naya was getting slightly uneasy now. She shifted her weight and tucked her hair behind her ear. "Good, I guess. Ya know, we have fun and…. I mean, I like being with you."_

"_Are you in love with me at all?"_

_Naya was taken aback by his very forward question. "Wow, you skip straight to the punch line don't you?" She nervously laughed, feeling like she had been put on the spot and didn't know how to answer._

_He cracked a smile and gently laughed along with her. He was nervous as well._

"_Just for the record, I'm pretty sure all these questions are traditionally supposed to be asked by the girl in the relationship," she joked. It had successfully broken the awkward tension and both of them felt more at ease, laughing at the truth of her comment._

"_No, but seriously," he pressed._

_Naya started worrying her bottom lip, not knowing how to answer his question without hurting his feelings. There was no way around it if she was going to be honest with him. She looked down at her hands. Now she was the one fidgeting. "Well, I like you…" She looked up to make eye contact with him. "And I really care about you."_

"_But you're not in love with me," Mark said resolutely._

_Naya worried her lip some more and gently shook her head from side to side._

"_Thought so."_

_Naya put her hand on top of his in between them on the couch. "Mark, I'm sorry. I really do care about you, I just, I don't have that type of feeling for you. I don't know. Maybe in the beginning it could've turned into that but it didn't. Not for me at least."_

_Mark wanted to clarify so she didn't get the wrong idea. "Oh no. I feel the same way. Don't feel bad about it." _

"_You do?" Naya was slightly surprised that he would be so forthright about it but she was also relieved. "I mean, I thought you weren't exactly fully invested so I guess it shouldn't come as a surprise._

"_Yeah, I mean, I really like you. To be honest you're one of the better girlfriends I've had. I can hang out with you without any type of weird pretense or anything and we have fun together…"_

_Naya could feel any excess tension about her relationship with Mark completely lift from her body._

"…_And I really do care about you, which I guess is why I wanted to talk. I want to be honest with you and I feel like I haven't really been fair to you. Well, to either of us, but especially to you."_

_Now Naya was confused. "What do you mean?"_

"_Look, I think the reason why this isn't working between us, or at least not working the way it should be, is partly my fault. And I didn't realize it until recently."_

"_Well, sometimes it just doesn't work."_

"_No, but I mean beyond that. I haven't really let you in, not as much as you should with someone you're dating. And I mean, I've always had my guard up but when I met you, you were someone that I felt comfortable with and someone I could trust and I should've been able to really open up to you but I stopped myself…"_

_The whole time Mark had been speaking frantically like his thoughts were on a runaway train and he had to get everything out. Naya listened and waited patiently for him to say everything he needed to say._

"…_I mean, on paper we're perfect for each other. But I stopped myself from letting you in or getting too close because … I'm still in love with someone else."_

_Naya was shocked. She hadn't expected anything like that to come out of this conversation but she was also glad to see him finally be unabashedly honest about himself. "Wow. I mean, just…wow. That's kind of huge."_

"_Yeah, I didn't really realize it until recently that I haven't gotten over her, and I'll probably never get over her. I just thought it wouldn't be fair to you if I kept this going." _

"_Well let's face it. We've kind of just been going through the motions this whole time," she said rather bluntly._

"_Yeah, I was thinking the same thing. So wait, you're not mad at me or anything?"_

"_No, of course not. I mean it kinda sucks, but, I'm just glad that you had the balls to be honest with me about it."_

_Mark started laughing at her use of the word 'balls.' Though he was somewhat serious by nature and one of the more mature guys Naya had dated, he always found room for a little juvenile humor. _

"_So who's the girl?" Naya was excitedly curious. _

_The two of them launched into a lengthy conversation about Mark's complicated relationship and, at the moment, unrequited love for a girl named Maddie he knew from Texas. They'd started out as good friends and had an on-again, off-again relationship for the better part of the past five years. By the way Mark talked about her Naya could tell he was really hung up on her. As their conversation went on it took on a new quality. It was as if both of them forgot that they had ever dated each other and they spoke like two good friends who happened to be hanging out and catching up. Naya felt oddly more comfortable with him this way, like they could be more themselves if they were relating as friends rather than having the boyfriend/girlfriend label hanging over their heads._

_Their conversation had moved on to a lighter subject matter and they re-located to the kitchen. Mark pulled out a couple of beers for them as he regaled some of his more embarrassing moments of the ridiculous lengths he'd gone to in the past for this girl. _

_Naya was laughing at a particularly endearing story of his, involving a midnight serenade from a rowboat that he'd accidently tipped over in the middle of his song. "I had no idea you were such a romantic sap," Naya ribbed at him. _

"_Yeah, well when it comes to her I am." He bashfully smiled and took another sip of his drink. "What about you? You gotta be at least a little sappy and romantic. I mean, some of the stuff you do for your friends is pretty impressive. I can only imagine the epic stuff you'd pull for a significant other."_

_She retracted her smile slightly. "Well, the jury is still out on that one. I don't think that person has come along yet."_

"_What about Heather?"_

_Naya was unsure of what he meant by his question and cocked her head to the side. "What about her?"_

"_Well you're in love with her right?" he said it as if he were stating that it was a Tuesday._

"_What?" Naya was perplexed by the casual nature of his suggestion but it came across like she might be uncomfortable talking about the concept._

"_Oh C'mon, it's okay for you to be in love with a girl."_

"_No, not that. I'm fine with that..." she waved her hand in dismissal of Mark's interpretation of her previous question. "…but I'm not in love with Heather." Naya was beginning to become flustered. She retracted and her thoughts came out sporadically. "I mean, of course I love her. She's my best friend. I love her, just like any of my other close friends."_

"_And you don't think you could ever be in love with her," he calmly stated._

_Her line of reasoning continued to stumble out in a chaotic mess. "No. I mean, I can't. She's into guys. She doesn't see girls that way. It'd be pointless masochism." _

"_Look, I'm no expert but, I see the way you look at her sometimes and trust me I know the feeling." _

_Her cheeks began turning a light shade of red and she became slightly defensive, crossing her arms. "Oh and how do I look at her?"_

"_Like the world could be ending but as long as you're with her nothing else matters," he resolved._

_Now Naya was completely blushing. She had no idea such a strong discernment had been so plainly written on her face. The comment was piercing and she tried to dodge his sharp observations. "Well isn't everyone always saying that falling in love is like a lightning bolt or something? That when you meet the person it just hits you and, bam! All of a sudden it just happens? I've known Heather for a while now and I don't think lightning has ever struck either one of us like that."_

"_Love isn't just a feeling. It's an ability." _

_He said it with complete certainty and the statement thwarted Naya. It stopped her thought process dead in its tracks as her mind tried to make room for this concept he'd stated with such obvious conviction._

_Mark took a moment to organize his thoughts. "Look, I am by no means the expert on this stuff but I know that love is a lot more than just something you feel. You have to be able to give it back. It's a leap of faith and you have to be open to taking it." _

_Naya was quietly absorbing what he was saying but Mark could tell she might need more explanation and he bit at his bottom lip trying to find a different way to express what he was trying to say. _

"_Okay, this might be a bad analogy but, who's more likely to win the lottery: someone who buys a ticket every week or someone who thinks there's no way in hell they'll win and never plays?"_

"_Well, obviously the person who buys a ticket. But the other people are right. There's no way in hell you're going to win the lottery."_

"_And yet people win it all the time. Sure, if you play, nine times out of ten you're gonna lose. But the people who play aren't afraid of losing. They're willing to take the risk, buy the ticket, and leave the chance of it up to fate. They're not going to hold back just because the odds are against them."_

"_This is a very philosophical lottery/love world you're working with."_

_Mark cracked a smile at her sarcasm. "It's a loose analogy. Just go with it."_

"_Okay, so what about the people who don't play? What's their deal?"_

"_My guess is that they don't play because they're too skeptical so they don't even bother. They choose to not even let the chance of winning exist."_

"_So wait, you're saying I can choose to be in love or not? But that doesn't make sense. If you can choose to be in love then people would just choose it and be happy."_

"_Well I don't think you can be in love with just anybody. I don't think you get to choose who you love. I mean it's hard enough to find that person and at the end of the day I think you just love who you love. But you have to be open to it. If you're holding back and you don't let yourself feel it, if you're not willing to let them in or show them you love them, then the love of your life could be staring you right in the face as you let your chance at happiness completely pass you by." _

_Now Naya had the solemn look on her face. She took another sip of her drink as she contemplated all he had said.  
_

* * *

Naya smiled warmly at the memory of how open Mark was with her that night talking about Maddie. She nudged his leg with her foot. "Go call your girlfriend Romeo."

Mark smiled, got up and walked away to make his phone call in private.

Chord poked his head through the opening of the sliding glass door and craned his head to the side to see Naya sitting at the table of the pool deck.

"Ace! What're you doing out here?"

"Just basking in my poker glory."

Chord grinned. He'd always taken some pride in being a decent poker player but the first time he played against Naya it had gone down to the wire between the two of them. She beat him with pocket Aces and since then he'd affectionately called her 'Ace.'

"God, I can't believe you won with a full house just now. I swear you sold your soul to the poker gods or something," he said walking over to the table.

"Nope. Just lucky I guess. My soul is still intact."

Naya could tell he might be hitting his limit soon as well. The volume of his voice was a little loud compared to his soft-spoken demeanor and he was starting to use more animated hand gestures while he spoke.

"What's Marky-Mark up to over there?" He pointed to Mark on the phone at the other side of the pool deck.

"You know if he heard you call him that he'd probably bum rush you." They both laughed at Mark's disdain for the 90's reference used with his name sometimes. "He's on the phone with Maddie."

"The guy is whipped."

"Nah, he's just a good boyfriend."

"Yeah, well you don't overhear some of the conversations he has with her. Whipped like butter," he emphasized the last sentence.

Naya knew how devoted Mark was to his girlfriend but Chord was much closer with Mark than she was. She could only imagine his insider perspective. Knowing how reserved Mark was on talking about his personal relationships, she never brought up Maddie in conversation unless he did first. "Actually, speaking of that, let's give him some privacy."

Chord and Naya walked back inside to rejoin the party. She walked over to her purse on the kitchen stool to check her phone and saw that Heather had haphazardly placed her jacket underneath the purse. Naya checked her phone for any calls or text messages and folded the jacket before placing her purse back on top of it.

She walked through the swinging door and into the living room to see that the room was still pumping with music and energy. Cory, Ashley, Harry and Kevin were in the middle of what looked like a rambunctious game of foosball. She opted for something a little less rowdy and decided to sit on the couch next to Diana. Darren was sitting in the chair perpendicular to the couch and the two of them seemed to be in deep conversation.

Darren was talking about meeting Train. "Patrick Monahan is such a cool guy. I was really nervous about meeting him but he said he really liked our version on the show."

"Well you did a good job front manning that number. Your showmanship really got a chance to shine," Diana said.

"Yeah, you guys did a great job with that song. It was fun to watch," Naya offered.

Darren reached across Diana and patted at Naya's knee. "Not as much fun as watching 'Valerie.'"

"God, that was such a fun number!" Diana instantly started bubbling with enthusiasm. She reached her arm behind Naya and pulled her into a tight side hug. "You owned that song. Our little Amy Winehouse."

Naya smiled softly to herself as the blonde released her from her hug and turned the attention of the conversation back to Darren. "That's so cool that you got to meet Train though, after doing their song on the show."

"They're awesome. They were so cool about it. They even sent me some of the rough tracks they have for their next album. They wanted me to listen to some of the songs they're working on and see what I thought of it."

"No way!" "That's awesome!" Both Naya and Diana excitedly responded at the same time.

"I know, I was like, 'I can't believe they want my opinion on their music. This is nuts.' Actually there's one song that sounds really great. Let me see if I can find it on my iPod and I'll hook it up to the stereo so you guys can have a listen."

Darren reached in his pocket and pulled out his iPod as Diana further discussed music with him. Heather plopped down on the couch next to the brunette and Naya whipped around to see Heather staring back at her with a dorky grin plastered on her face.

"You're so prrreeetty."

Naya could tell Kevin or Ashley had probably given the birthday girl one too many shots. The blonde was in that relaxed but giddy state she got when she established a good buzz. It also meant that her mental filter would be almost non-existent at the moment.

"Mmm, and how much have you had to drink?"

Heather knew that, for some reason, Naya was always a little uncomfortable taking compliments, like they were undeserved or people just said them to be nice. She caught a hint of that in Naya's response. She softened her face and said, with all sincerity, "No really. I mean you're beautiful…"

Naya bashfully tucked her lips into her mouth as she looked intently at Heather who was trying to better explain her thoughts.

"…like, not just on the outside, but on the inside too." Heather leaned in closer to place her hand on Naya's heart in the center of her chest.

Naya looked down and could feel her heart beating faster. She put her hand on top of Heather's for a moment before gently taking hold of it and letting their hands fall to her lap.

"You're…" Heather couldn't think of the right word. "…amazing. You amaze me. You make me wanna…" Heather spoke softly as her eyes darted all over Naya's face, studying it, before stopping at her deep brown eyes. "…wanna…"

Naya leaned forward slightly, begging to hear what Heather would say or do next.

Heather silently held her gaze for another moment before leaning forward slightly as well. Then suddenly she squeezed Naya's hand and jumped up. "Dance with me!" She pulled Naya off the couch and on top of the coffee table with her.

Naya was completely thrown and tried to keep up with the sudden change of pace, failing miserably. With Heather pulling her arm, Naya clamored onto the coffee table and listlessly started dancing to the music. Her mind was in a tailspin, trying to figure out exactly what had just happened. Once she focused on the extraordinarily beautiful dancer in front of her, who's body seemed to be completely captivated with the music, she filed the previous moment away in her mind for later and joined Heather, lightheartedly dancing.

Of course Heather's dancing seemed completely effortless, her body moving in perfect rhythm with the beat. Naya loved seeing her this way, unrestrained and free to improvise, letting her body move to wherever the music took her. It was an enchanting sight to see. Naya was glad the lighting in the room was dim, not so that other's couldn't see her friend's expert dancing, but because it lessened the chance of anyone seeing that Naya was completely spellbound.

The song ended and the room became silent except for a few scattered conversations going on. Darren started tinkering with a few of the knobs and wires of the stereo system trying to hook up his iPod.

Heather stopped dancing and made a goofy sad face at Naya. "No more music."

Where Heather's genuinely sad, pouty face pulled at Naya's sentimental side, Heather's silly sad faces always made her laugh. "Well aside from the delay from Mr. DJ over there, are you having a good birthday so far?"

Heather's goofy pout immediately turned into an ecstatic smile. "This has been the most awesome birthday ever! Seriously, the surprise thing at midnight was like the best present I've ever had."

"That was only part one of my present."

Heather gave Naya a silent look of astonishment. "There's more?"

"Well, I got you your actual present weeks ago, which you'll get at dinner tomorrow. Tonight was something I wanted to put together because I thought it would be fun and special for you."

That goofy grin of hers instantly appeared on Heather's face, "Seriously you're like the best person ever," and she enthusiastically pulled Naya into a hug.

Once again Naya lightly laughed at her friend's outburst of giddiness and affection. But she quickly felt the warmth of Heather's body and pulled her closer, tightening their embrace. She closed her eyes as she took a moment to just enjoy holding Heather so close, wishing that she could hold her like this all the time.

Naya overheard Darren talking to Diana over by the stereo system. "Okay so here's that song I was telling you about. Just give it a sec." It brought her back to reality.

She decided to start pulling away from their hug. "So is there anything else you want for your birthday? A cotton candy machine? Maybe a waterslide bouncy house? I'm sure we could figure out how to pull that off," Naya joked.

When they released from their embrace they were just inches apart from each other, Heather's hands still lingering around Naya's arms and Naya's hands still lingering around Heather's waist. When Naya caught those blue eyes she could make out an unmistakable hint of lust.

"I just want to…" Heather spoke softly and glanced down at Naya's lips.

Naya felt like they'd picked up where they left off in their previous moment on the couch. The moment where the only thing she wanted to do was lean in and kiss Heather full on the lips but she had stopped herself.

The desire behind Heather's eyes kept building. "I really want to…"

Naya was going to go for it. She didn't care about the implications anymore.

_Don't edit yourself. Don't hold back._

Just as Naya started to lean in, a pulsing guitar rhythm burst out of the sound system. Heather took hold of Naya's hand and jumped off the coffee table, pulling her toward the entryway of the room. Naya could feel the rhythm and beat of the song coursing through her whole body along with her own accelerated heartbeat. Heather led them out of the room as if someone had just lit a blazing fire, and into the downstairs bathroom, shutting the door behind them.

As soon as the door shut Heather pulled Naya close to her and crashed their lips together. There was a desperate urgency behind the way Heather was kissing her. A rollercoaster of emotions flashed through Naya's body. She was simultaneously overwhelmed with ecstasy and scared as hell. She wasn't expecting anything like this and now that is was happening, her head was spinning, spiraling out of control. She couldn't believe Heather was kissing her like this, wanting her like this. Feeling Heather's soft and smooth lips on hers made her legs turn to jelly and she thought she might collapse. She relaxed and returned the intensity of the kiss, lifting her hand to cradle Heather's neck. Their lips moved together in a fervor and eagerness neither one of them had ever experienced.

Heather lightly pushed Naya back until she hit the door and deepened the kiss, pinning their bodies close together. She ran her hand up Naya's shirt, exploring the skin along her waist and abdomen.

Naya flicked her tongue across Heather's lips and the blonde opened her mouth further, letting Naya's tongue slip inside and caress hers. Heather alternated between running her tongue along Naya's and massaging her bottom lip, like she couldn't decide which one she liked more. Naya ran her hand up Heather's back and through her blonde hair, cradling her head.

Heather moved her hand to cup Naya's breast as she began kissing down Naya's jaw line until she reached her tanned neck. She kissed up and down, placing her tongue at one spot, closing her lips around it and then gently sucking on her skin until she moved to the next spot.

Naya craned her head and let out a soft moan. Heather ran her hand down Naya's backside until she reached her thigh, pulling it up and tight against the side of her own waist. She lifted her knee and pressed her leg into Naya's center, lifting her body further up the door as she crashed their lips together once more.

"Mmmm," Naya moaned into her mouth.

Naya could feel the heat shooting through her body and throbbing in between her legs. She ran her hand underneath Heather's tank top and up her torso wanting to touch more of her. She ran her thumb across her ribs and made small circles just under her breast. Heather let out a small gasp at how sensitive she was to Naya's touch. She completely enveloped Naya's lips into her mouth, like she couldn't get enough of her.

Naya was completely intoxicated by Heather's touch as their lips moved vigorously with each other. The floodgates of her suppressed desires had been opened; every fleeting moment of attraction, every pained wish of kissing Heather, every glance and touch that left her begging for more. She felt like everything inside of her had been whipped into a heated frenzy. She threw every bit of her passionate fire and energy into kissing Heather and touching her all over.

Naya pushed back against Heather's lips and she began to pull at the hem of her tank top. Heather took the hint, let go of her physical hold on Naya against the door and swiftly pulled her tank top off over her head. The second Heather dropped her knee Naya pushed lightly at the blonde's hips. Heather shuffled backward toward the counter, only breaking their kiss briefly when she lifted her shirt up between them.

Once Heather's butt hit the counter of the sink, she started unbuttoning the top buttons of Naya's shirt as Naya worked at unbuttoning the bottom ones. Once her shirt was open, Naya wrapped her hands around the back of Heather's thighs and pulled up. Heather instinctively placed her palms on the edge of the counter helping Naya to lift her so she could sit at the edge of the sink. Naya tapped at the insides of Heather's knees so they would spread wider. Heather took hold of the cloth at the opening of Naya's shirt with both hands. She parted the shirt, lifted the sides over Naya's shoulders and around her back until the collar was wrapped around the back of her torso, and pulled her closer. The now limited range of motion for Naya's arms meant she could only grab hold of Heather's waist and butt. She gladly did so.

Heather continued kissing Naya in a desperate but sensual manner. She took Naya's bottom lip into her mouth one last time and sucked on it until she lightly pulled at it with her teeth before letting go. Still holding Naya close by the cloth of her green shirt, Heather leaned her head down to the girl's almost bare shoulder. She took Naya's black bra strap into her mouth with her teeth and pulled it to the side and off her shoulder. She then left a trail of kisses along her shoulder and collarbone before angling her head to kiss just behind Naya's neck at the crook where her shoulder and neck meet. It caused Naya to hitch her breath. It was a small, sensitive spot for her that made her completely melt, and Heather managed to find it with ease.

"Heath … Heather," she gasped softly as she craned her neck to the side in order to give the blond better access.

Heather stayed at that one special spot, massaging it with her lips and tongue until she had to pull her head up for air.

By now Naya was radiating, her breathing becoming erratic. She was so pleasurably sensitive to every touch and kiss and their bodies being so close. She wanted more. She wanted to touch more of Heather and kiss her all over. She pulled the blonde as close to her body as possible so that Heather's center was pressed against her stomach. Naya fervently began kissing Heather's neck and slowly moved down to her chest. Heather hitched her breath and arched her back as Naya took the skin of her breast along the edge of her bra into her mouth. Heather let go of Naya's shirt and gripped at her back with one hand as she ran her other hand up the girl's neck and cradled her head closer, letting her fingernails gently drag along Naya's skin. Naya felt a warm, blazing sensation permeate through her whole body.

Knock-knock-knock

Naya heard someone knocking at the bathroom door but ignored it and moved to kissing along the bra line of Heather's other breast.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

She pressed her lips further into Heather's skin, briefly sucking on it.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

"Tell them to go away," Heather said breathlessly.

Naya reluctantly pulled her lips away from Heather and let go of her. She took a second to catch her breath and turned towards the door, shrugging her shirt back over her shoulders and buttoning one of the buttons around her midriff.

* * *

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

Chord was standing outside the bathroom incessantly knocking on the door like Woody Woodpecker.

Mark walked by with a shot of Patrón in his hand and stopped when he saw Chord knocking like he was about to break a hole through the door.

"Yo man, you can't rush someone taking care of business in there. It'll just make 'em take longer."

Chord stopped knocking and turned to Mark completely frustrated. "Dude, I seriously have to take a leak and someone's been in there for a while, like way longer than it should take.

Kevin walked up wanting to see what the commotion was about. "What's going on?"

"Chord needs to use the john and someone's been in there reading a novel."

"You can just use mine upstairs. No big deal," Kevin said gesturing toward the staircase.

Just then, the bathroom door yanked open.

"What!" Naya said with a little more force than she had intended.

As the boys saw the inside of the bathroom they stood there with their mouths gaping open in complete shock and silence. Looking into the bathroom they could see Heather sitting on the counter with her legs open and her shirt off. She tugged at her shorts while she ran her hand through her hair, which was wild and in complete disarray. Naya's hair also seemed to be in disarray and her lips were noticeably swollen. There was only one button holding her shirt closed around her midriff and her black lace bra was in full view as she reached inside her shirt to pull the strap back onto her shoulder.

"Wha—uh sorry," was the only thing Chord could manage to say.

Naya was impatient. "Is that all?"

"Uh…" Kevin was in a stupor and couldn't articulate anything coherent.

"Okay then." Naya was about to close the door and spotted the shot in Mark's hand. She reached across, grabbed it and drank the shot, all in one fluid motion. When she was done she placed the empty shotglass back in Mark's hand. "Thanks boys." She shut the door.

Chord stared at the closed bathroom door completely bewildered as he backed away slowly toward the staircase.

Mark began snickering until it turned into a full out laugh. "Finally! It's about damn time."

Kevin was still in a stupor. "Wait, what? What just happened?"

Chord reached the foot of the staircase and was about to start heading upstairs when he turned back to Mark and Kevin. "By the way, you two owe me twenty bucks." He turned and rushed up the stairs.

"Wha—Aw damnit." It took Kevin a second to figure out what Chord was talking about.

Mark came down from his laughing, sighed and looked down into his empty shotglass. "Well, good for them. I need a refill." He headed back to the kitchen leaving Kevin standing there feeling slightly defeated and completely baffled.

* * *

I was a little nervous writing this chapter so please let me know what you think of it and if you feel so inclined, leave a review :)


	4. Happy Birthday Beautiful

A/N: Again, thank you to everyone who reviewed. I really appreciate it. I'm also constantly looking for constructive criticism, so if something jumps out at you that you want to comment on, good or bad, please let me know. I want to know what I'm doing right, what I'm doing wrong, what you all want to see happen and if any of this makes you laugh, cry, feel happy or sad, or if any of this just makes you want to shove a screwdriver through you head. Whatever it makes you think or feel, I want to know about it. :)

Also, you can look me up on tumblr. I have my URL posted in my profile. I post all my updates on tumblr so it's a good place to check up on the status of this story, plus if you have any questions about the story I'd be glad to answer them.

The songs featured in this chapter are "Happy Birthday Beautiful" by Innocence Mission and "What I Got" by Sublime. Listed in the order in which they appear in the chapter, just add youtube to the beginning:

Happy Birthday Beautiful - .com/watch?v=idghDgZOjss

What I Got - .com/watch?v=6oKxFSpZAno

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

Bold As Love

Ch.4 'Happy Birthday Beautiful'

Naya could feel the sunlight hitting her face and she refused to open her eyes. She reached up with her right hand as her fingers fumbled across the blinds of the window trying to find the drawstring to close them. She found it, pulled hard and a welcoming shade replaced the unpleasant blinding light.

The rest of her body felt like it had been hit repeatedly with a bag of bricks. Her right side felt slightly tickled, her whole left side was warm and for some reason she couldn't feel much of her left arm. Her head felt like it had been impaled with an ice pick and her mouth felt like it had been stuffed with cotton balls.

_I'm in for a hangover._

She craned her head back, stretching her neck along the curvature of the armrest as pockets of air seemed to burst with much needed relief all over her body. She opened her eyes, her vision adjusting to the light in the room and she could see a bottle of water with a sticky note on it resting on the end table of the couch she'd fallen asleep on. With foggy, upside down vision she read the note.

"_Thought Foxxy might need this in the morning -Bee"_

Her vision immediately came into focus and her right arm shot back to grab the bottle. She whipped her arm and head forward so she could read the note right side up.

_Foxxy? Who'd I make out with last night?_

Her eyes shifted focus to the other side of the couch where she saw creamy white legs tangled up with her own. Her eyes scanned up the couch. Her left arm was wrapped underneath Heather who was curled up next to her sound asleep. Heather had her arm wrapped around Naya's waist and her head was resting on Naya's shoulder.

_Wait, how did we get like this? Did we fall asleep like this? Is that my shirt? Why is Heather wearing my shirt? Why am I wearing Heather's shirt? What the hell happened last night?_

A flash of snapshots fluttered through her mind as everything came rushing back to her consciousness. She remembered the conversation on the couch, Heather pulling her up to the coffee table to dance, that moment just before Heather yanked her into the bathroom.

_The bathroom. Oh God, the bathroom._

Naya remembered it was like a tornado had blown through there, the way they were all over each other. A smile lagged across her face as the memory of everything she felt in that heated moment with Heather filled her body. The adrenaline rush, the surprise and intensity of Heather's kiss, the exhilaration of finally allowing her suppressed attraction toward Heather to run wild, knowing that Heather wanted it too. It had ignited a fire inside her.

What happened in the bathroom was quite an over-powering sensation and she couldn't remember much of anything else, just faint and hazy images. She tried jogging her memory to figure out what else happened after that point. She remembered Chord knocking on the door and interrupting them. In fact she remembered Kevin knocking on the door shortly after that too. That's when they stopped and apparently switched shirts in the process of rejoining the party. After that all she could remember were snapshots; Harry and Darren having a dance off, Guitar Hero being played at some point in the night, Mark saying something about food and a bunch of people piling into Cory's car, Darren standing on top of the blow up mattress pretending it was a surfboard, Chord and her playing rock, paper, scissors to determine who got the futon, and Kevin and Heather trying to decide what movie to watch.

She stared up at the ceiling letting all of it sink in. She stuck the bottle of water between her legs and unscrewed the cap. She drank about half of it, hoping it would ease some of her headache or at least make her mouth not feel so dry, and then sandwiched the bottle between her leg and the back of the couch.

_Wait. Hold up. I didn't fall asleep with her next to me like this. It was just me on the couch last night and I fell asleep like right when the movie started. _

Naya distinctly remembered Kevin insisting that Darren, Chord, Heather and her crash there for the night instead of driving home. He set up the blow up mattress for Heather, Darren passed out on the big beanbag chair in the corner and Chord got the futon, leaving Naya with the couch.

She looked over to where the blow up mattress was in the center of the room. It looked completely unused with a blanket neatly folded and resting on top. Heather had snuggled up next to Naya on the couch and fell asleep there instead of using the blow up mattress that she could have had all to herself.

Naya shifted her focus to Heather's angelic face resting beside her.

_She wanted to sleep next to me._

A sweet smile slowly crept its way onto her face as she gazed adoringly at the sleeping blonde next to her. She studied her face, taking in every contour and detail. Her smooth skin, the faint, small beauty mark just below her eye, the line her lips made when they're pressed together, her slow and steady breathing. Naya brought her hand up to Heather's face and tucked a loose strand of blonde hair behind the girl's ear before letting her arm down to rest next to Heather's across her waist.

_God, she's beautiful._

The blonde remained peacefully asleep, warm and curled into the brunette's side as Naya lightly grazed her thumb back and forth across Heather's arm. In that moment her frantic thoughts completely halted and everything seemed to be in slow motion as a calm serenity washed over her. She began to softly hum a song that came to mind until she eventually let the lyrics pour out of her, singing just above a whisper.

'_Happy birthday, beautiful_

_in the fields of this day_

_hear a song, hear a song._

_Oh, undeserved sweetness and light,_

_stay by my side._

_We will go out in the morning now,_

_a crown of maple leaves, a crown of flowers_

_circling your sweet head._

_Happy birthday, beautiful,_

_in the streets of this day_

_play a song, play a song._

_Happy birthday, beautiful,_

_In the fields of this day,_

_hear a song, hear a song,_

_hear a song, hear a song.'_

Never breaking her gaze Naya continued humming and trailing her thumb across Heather's arm. She slowly bent her head and placed a gentle kiss on the sleeping girl's forehead. All she could feel was Heather; the soft touch of her skin, the warmth of her body, the beat of her heart and the steady rise and fall of her stomach as she breathed. Nothing outside of this moment existed and, for once, her mind was at ease, not wanting or wishing, not questioning or worrying. She felt as if she could stay wrapped in this moment forever and be happy.

"Mmmm," Heather murmured as she began waking up.

She curled further into Naya's side before slowly retracting her arm until she stretched it out to the side and gave a great, big yawn. Her body weight shifted to the edge of the couch as she stretched her arm out but she stretched too far and fell off the side of the couch, landing on the floor with a loud thud.

Darren's upper body jolted up from the beanbag chair. "Hmm, what?" he said as he rubbed his eyes, his hair in a wild mess.

Naya quickly leaned over the side of the couch. "Oh my God, are you okay?"

Heather was lying there with her back to the floor. "Ow!" She started rubbing the outside of her shoulder.

The swinging door to the kitchen flew open and Kevin walked in with a startled expression on his face. "Everything okay?"

Heather sat up and looked over at him squinting her eyes and trying to adjust to the abrupt wake up call. "Yep. Just me being a klutz." She gave him a thumbs up.

"Do I smell coffee?" Darren asked, mid-yawn.

"Yep. We just made a fresh pot. Grab a cup," Kevin offered before going back to the kitchen.

Darren stood up and in zombie like fashion shuffled over to the kitchen. Naya stood up from the couch and extended her arm down to help Heather up. "Come on, let's get some coffee."

Heather grabbed Naya's arm as she stood up and they walked to the kitchen.

Kevin was pulling out mugs from the cabinet as Darren blankly stared into his cup while he filled it with coffee. Chord was leaning against the island counter with a bottle of Gatorade in front of him and his head in his hands. The island counter was filled with half empty and empty bottles of liquor, including an empty bottle of Patrón.

Kevin held out two coffee mugs for the girls to take. Naya took hers while Heather just shook her head.

"No coffee for me. I might need about a gallon of water though," Heather joked.

Kevin laughed and put the extra mug away, pulling out a large glass instead and handing it to Heather. "Knock yourself out. There's Gatorade in the fridge too if you want some."

Heather took the glass, filled it with water and proceeded to drink all of it in record speed.

"I think I have some aspirin in my purse too," Naya offered as she poured herself some coffee.

Darren was holding his hand to his throbbing head. "I might take some of that."

Chord groaned and brought his head up from his hands. "Final score: Birthday shots – Five, the rest of us – death by hangover."

"I have to say, I think the Patrón thoroughly kicked our asses last night," Kevin resolved.

"I don't even remember anything after the birthday shots," said Heather as she refilled her glass.

Naya froze as she was raising her coffee cup to her lips.

_Wait. She doesn't remember anything? But…_

She didn't know what to think. She didn't have time to think. The boys started talking about getting breakfast and the five of them were out the door and in their cars within the next few minutes.

They were going to one of their favorite hole-in-the-wall breakfast diners. Nothing much was said during the car ride there. Heather sat half asleep in the passenger seat, sipping on her bottle of Gatorade and still trying to wake up. Naya didn't want to prematurely say anything about what happened the night before, not if Heather didn't remember any of it. She went back and forth in her mind trying to decide if this was a good thing or a bad thing.

When they got to the diner they all shuffled inside and to an open booth. Still feeling sluggish from the previous night's partying, everyone was content to have very little conversation as they looked through their menus. Of course once Darren had his first full cup of coffee he wouldn't stop talking.

Naya was starving when they had walked in but once she got her food all she had was a slice of toast and ended up just pushing her scrambled eggs around the plate with her fork. Oddly, she couldn't muster up much of an appetite and wasn't able to concentrate on the conversation going on at the table. She just kept quiet and nodded every so often. Darren was going on about something but his voice was drowned out by her thoughts, zipping around in her head like a professional ping-pong match.

Naya's mind went into analytical overload. Heather was clueless as to what happened the night before and there wasn't even a hint of acknowledgement about it from anyone. She knew the boys had seen into the bathroom and it was way too obvious what was going on for them not to figure it out. She didn't expect Chord to say anything but at the very least she expected Kevin to make a joke about it or something by now. She started questioning if anything happened at all. Maybe it was all just her imagination. God knows she'd fantasized about something like that before. Then again, there was Kevin's note on the water bottle. She had to have made out with someone, unless Kevin was just being facetious. But beside that, she remembered everything that had happened with Heather, clear as day. And waking up with Heather in her arms felt so perfect. No, it definitely happened.

Still, that didn't solve anything for her because Heather didn't remember any of it. Should she bring it up in the car on the way home? If Heather knew the extent of what happened the night before, Naya was positive she would freak out about it. Heather had never done anything like that with a girl before. She might even push Naya away for some time while she figured out how she felt about it. But if Heather didn't remember and Naya didn't say anything then there was no reason for things to become awkward between the two of them. They could go on with their normal friendship. Naya would have to make sure Kevin, Chord and Mark didn't say anything either, but they could continue their friendship as if nothing happened.

But Naya wasn't sure if she wanted that. She'd been compelled, like a magnet, toward Heather right from the start. In the back of her head, she always knew she liked her as more than a friend, even if most of the time she pushed that level of attraction away. But now Naya was allowing herself to seriously consider the idea of being more than just friends with her. It felt so right, kissing her and waking up next to her, holding her in her arms. She didn't want this to be the end of it.

The conversation at the table took on a more energetic quality. It seemed that the food had helped everyone feel a little less hungover. Naya was still blankly staring at her plate and had barely touched her food. Heather, who was sitting next to her in the booth, took notice and nudged her foot underneath the table. Naya looked over.

Heather silently mouthed, "You okay?"

Naya nodded her head 'yes' and placed her fork down. "I'm gonna use the restroom. Be right back," she said as she scooted out of the booth.

When she got to the restroom she went to the big handicapped stall and turned on the sink water. She put up her hair in a messy bun, wet her hand and ran some cool water around her neck. Then she splashed her face and tried to rub some of the residual mascara away. She shut the water off and leaned against the stall door with her arms crossed and her eyes closed as the thoughts in her head only got louder.

There was one unknown variable nagging at her that she couldn't ignore. Heather was the one who had so eagerly started things last night when she pulled the both of them into the downstairs bathroom. Heather was the one who instigated their heated make out session with such an intense kiss. And Heather was the one who wanted to curl up on the couch and fall asleep next to Naya. Those wants and desires didn't just come out of nowhere. Heather may have been drinking but Naya knew her well enough to know that when the girl drank she was never reckless. If anything she was just more giddy, honest, and forthright about things, like she'd been given a truth serum or some liquid courage. On some level Heather had to have a basic desire to do all those things.

But Naya couldn't exactly outright ask Heather about any of this, not without calling the nature of their relationship into question. Naya wasn't willing to risk that. Her friendship with Heather was one of her most valued and important relationships in her life. She'd rather keep that than screw it up and have nothing at all. She knew she had to let it go. Everything in her head, everything she'd felt, everything about last night and this morning. She had to let it all go if she wanted to keep her friendship with Heather intact.

She breathed deeply and let it out with a big sigh. She decided that it was best to not say anything at all.

_Heather doesn't like girls like that. Just forget any of it ever happened. _

When Naya approached the table again Darren was somehow still chatter boxing away as everyone filled out their bills. Her nearly full plate of food was still on the table.

"I got a to-go box for you just in case you wanted to finish it later," Heather gestured to the plate as Naya sat down.

"No, I'm good. Let's get outta here. I need a shower and my own bed for a couple of hours." Naya filled out her bill.

Kevin threw his hand up in a praising manner. "Amen sista."

"Yeah, I think all of us need to wash this hangover off," said Chord as he finished with his bill and tossed the pen on the table.

Everyone started filing out of the booth and out to the parking lot. Somehow the sky had become slightly overcast in the time it took them to eat breakfast and everyone was thankful that the bright sunlight wasn't blaring down on them. They all hugged and said their goodbyes just outside the door of the diner before they all dispersed through the parking lot to their various cars.

"I feel like hell but this was such a fun way to start a birthday," Heather said as her and Naya walked up behind Naya's graphite colored Mazda3 4-door.

"Well it's not over yet. You still have your dinner thing tonight."

"Ashley won't let me help." Heather threw up her arm in discontent. "I don't even know what she's making."

"I do," Naya smirked as she set her purse on the trunk of the car to fish out her keys.

Heather pulled the corner of her mouth up in a tight-lipped, sly smile and looked straight at Naya. "Oh, you do huh?"

"Mmhm," Naya nodded, wary of the smirk on Heather's face.

Heather moved close to her and started lightly poking her in the side and stomach. "You gonna tell me?"

"Nope."

Heather poked her again.

"Nope!" Naya said with a higher pitch every time Heather poked her.

Heather started rapidly poking and tickling her all over her stomach. "Come on. Tell me." They were both giggling as she tickled Naya.

Naya was trying to swat Heather's hands away but Heather's hands were too fast. Naya let out a yelp as the tickling intensified and Heather's smile grew bigger.

Naya finally got a hold of Heather's wrists and tried to hold her hands away. But she only had a hold of her wrists for a split second before Heather pulled her signature move in this situation, twirling and spinning her hands in ninja like fashion to break Naya's hold. Once her hands were free she grabbed Naya's wrists and swiftly wrapped them behind the brunette, pinning both of their hands between Naya's lower back and the car. Heather and Naya were facing each other and pressed close together, leaning against the car.

"Gotcha," Heather smirked.

The close proximity of their bodies made Naya inhale sharply as she tried to catch her breath. She held her breath for a moment, taking in Heather's sly smile and the fact that Heather was pressed up so close to her. She let out her breath on a laugh that reached her eyes and shook her head. "I'm still not telling you."

Heather scrunched her nose and mouth together and then clicked her tongue. "Fine, you win." She giggled and let go of her hold on Naya and stepped back.

Naya giggled and turned around to get her keys out of her purse. "I will say this though. There's a good chance Ashley might set the house on fire, so you might wanna keep an eye on her in the kitchen."

"Well there's a good chance of that _anytime_ Ashley decides to cook," Heather said as she rounded the passenger side of the car. "Why do you think I wanna know what she's making? I want to assess the amount of damage control I'm in for tonight," she playfully joked.

Naya was unlocking the car. "Does she even know what a spatula looks like?"

"Probably not, but she definitely knows what a take-out menu looks like."

The girls smiled and laughed as they got in the car and pulled out of the parking lot. Naya turned off the AC and rolled down the windows. It was nice to feel the cool breeze and have the wind in their hair as they drove. Naya hated not having music on in the car though so she started tinkering with the radio dial trying to find a good song that was playing.

"Oooh! Go back! Go back," Heather said as she bounced in her seat.

Naya turned the dial to the previous station she passed. The laid-back guitar rhythm of Sublime's 'What I Got' played through the speakers.

"Throwback!" Naya threw her hand up in the air and bobbed her head to the beat as she turned up the volume.

Heather's long blonde hair blew in the wind as she animatedly danced in her seat to the vibe of the music, air-guitaring the prominent guitar riff. Then just as the beat kicked up in the second half of the verse, the two girls started singing along with gusto and gesturing to the lyrics. Heather stuck her head out the window like a dog at one point. Both girls were smiling wide as they had fun singing and playing along to the song in the car, without a care in the world.

Naya felt like this is exactly what she needed. Unlike the chaotic mess in her head, this felt normal. Singing in the car with her best friend who was being wacky and goofy dancing in her seat. Naya felt like she didn't have a thing to worry about, that things would go back to the way they had always been, just the two of them having fun and goofing off together.

As the song approached the end, the girls relaxed in their seats, bobbing their heads to the chill vibe of the music. They sang along to the repeating chorus.

'_Lovin' is what I got, I said remember that._

_Lovin' is what I got, I said remember that.'  
_

* * *

When they got back to Naya's place, Heather went home and Naya jumped in the shower. She decided she'd nap for a few hours before looking over her script and getting ready for Heather's birthday dinner. The sleep deprivation she'd had for the past few weeks and the mental exhaustion of the day had finally caught up to her. She fell asleep face down on her bed with the towel still wrapped around her body. When she woke up several hours later she rushed to get ready, realizing she only had about an hour to wrap Heather's gift, change and get over to Heather's house.

Knock-knock-knock. Naya knocked on Heather's front door. Before she could even pull her hand away, the door swung open to reveal a tall, lanky young man with messy, dirty blonde hair and a wide grin.

"Well if it isn't that sassy bitch from Glee."

"Hey Reid," Naya gave him a friendly smile. "Perez Hilton called. He wants his shirt back."

"Oh like you'd ever give him your number." He smiled and held out his arms to give her a hug.

Reid was a friend of Heather's from her stint in college when she'd attempted a more conventional route for her future. They'd kept in touch and when he graduated, he decided to move to Los Angeles to find a job in journalism. He'd been staying in the small downstairs office room for the past few months while he tried to find a steady job and an apartment. He was one of those guys who made it seem like he's real chummy with everyone, like he's everyone's favorite pal to joke around with, but there was always something insincere about him that Naya just didn't like. To her, he always seemed like he was just out for himself. She certainly didn't trust him farther than she could throw him. But he was a friend of Heather's and Naya knew Heather was too nice of a person to make him destitute if he needed a place to stay while he got on his feet. So Naya tolerated him as best she could but she never liked being over at Heather's while Reid was there.

She gave him a quick, polite hug before stepping inside and shutting the door. In comparison to Naya's snug bungalow, Heather and Ashley's house was much more wide and open with tons of space. The living room was huge with two beige couches, a comfy leather chair and a purple Papasan chair, and two coffee tables with a large staircase to the left. There was a door at the back of the living room that led to the small office space and to the right was a big open space of hardwood floor where, theoretically, a dining table would go. Heather and Ashley didn't care enough to go out and buy one so Ashley mostly used it to store some of her filming equipment. Behind that and toward the back of the house was the kitchen, which was partially blocked off by a wall that separated it from the living room. At the moment, all the windows in the house were fully open and a gentle, cool evening breeze wafted through the house.

Once again, Naya was the last to arrive. Heather was on the couch playing 'Need For Speed' on the Xbox with her two long time dancer friends, Jay and Nikki. It seemed to be an intense race because all three of them were on the edge of their seats gripping their controllers as they leaned with the movements of their virtual cars. Heather had her tongue hanging out the side of her mouth and curled over her upper lip, her eyes narrowed in concentration. Zack, Heather's cat, jumped up on the armrest of the couch propping himself up next to Heather.

Naya made her way to the kitchen where Ashley was sitting at the counter with a glass of red wine and Reid was pouring himself another glass. Diana was turning on the oven light to check on its contents. It smelled amazingly delicious but there seemed to be a thin layer of smoke lingering in the air and Naya could see that the overhead smoke detector on the wall had been bashed and was now hanging by a single thin wire.

"Smells great Ash but what's with the fire hazard?" Naya asked pointing at the smoke detector.

"I had to call re-enforcements," Ashley tilted her glass in Diana's direction.

Diana rolled her eyes and gave a small smirk. "Ashley almost burned the house down with her first attempt at lasagna and called me over to help but seeing as working an oven is like learning Mandarin for her, I told her to keep her undomesticated butt out of the kitchen. So I'm taking care of dinner."

Naya let out a small laugh. All of that seemed about par for the course for Ashley.

"Thank God," Reid commented as he sipped his wine. Ashley gave him a disapproving look. "No offense, but anything that resembles charcoal doesn't sound too appealing to me."

Ashley shrugged it off and turned back to Naya. "It was so awesome though! The detector started wailing like an atomic bomb was about to drop and Heather came in and smashed the hell out of it with a baseball bat."

"She does have impressive emergency handling skills," Naya said sarcastically.

Reid tilted his glass toward Ashley as he spoke. "Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum here didn't think to open a window though. So by the time I got home the kitchen looked like closing time at a smoker's bar."

Diana picked up her glass of wine. "There will be food though. It should be done in about ten minutes."

"Great! I'm starving," Naya held her stomach for effect.

Diana pointed in the direction of the living room. "You mind setting up the coffee tables in there for me?"

Since the only real eating space in the house was at the kitchen counter with the three high top chairs, it had become custom that if there was a big group over to eat they would push the two large coffee tables in the living room together as a makeshift dining table.

Naya made her way to the living room where the others had just finished up with the Xbox and placed her purse on the end table of the couch.

"I think I need to reclaim my manhood after that humiliating loss," Jay said as he stood from the couch.

Nikki put her arms around his neck and gave him a quick peck on the lips. "It's okay honey. At least you know how to rev your engine in the bedroom."

"You never waste an opportunity to compliment me do you?" He smiled and gave her a kiss back, putting his arms around her waist.

Heather and Naya shared a brief glance at each other before Heather rolled her eyes and smiled at her friends who were beginning to make out in front of her. "Okay lovebirds, do you at least mind waiting until after dinner?"

"Which is going to be ready soon," Naya added.

"Awesome!" Nikki bounced up and down.

"Yeah, I'm starving," Jay added. They both walked passed Naya to the kitchen as she made her way over to Heather.

Heather was putting away the controllers. "I swear to God, ever since they got together I've never seen them fight."

"Yeah, they're really good together." Naya began helping her put away all the Xbox stuff. "So I heard you hit a home run against the smoke detector. I didn't even know you owned a baseball bat."

Heather laughed. "Yeah that was pretty nuts. It was Taylor's. He left it here one time. Might as well put it to good use, right?"

"Remind me never to piss you off, now that I know you have access to a baseball bat," Naya said as she walked behind one of the coffee tables.

Heather walked behind the other one and knelt down, placing her hands on the edge of the table. "I could never get pissed off at you. You're too awesome to me."

Naya smiled to herself before she knelt down to push the coffee tables together.

Heather continued in a nonchalant, Brittany S. Pierce kind of way. "I mean, who's gonna laugh at my random ass jokes or terrorize the kitchen with me when I wanna be a culinary mad scientist?"

"Mmm, those strawberry shortcake pancakes the other day were gooood," Naya played along but was completely sincere.

Heather laughed as they simultaneously pushed the coffee tables together before both of them stood up.

Heather smiled sweetly and continued in earnest. "Seriously though, all the nice stuff you do for me? Sometimes I feel like I could just kiss you."

Naya instantly became shy and nervous. She glanced down at her hands trying to shield her face.

"Ooh! That reminds me," Heather excitedly said as she walked out from behind the table. Naya mirrored her movement and they stood in the middle of the living room together. "Have you read the re-writes yet?" Heather asked.

Naya playfully smirked as she crossed her arms. "Says the girl who so vehemently did not want me reading my script last night."

Heather rolled her eyes.

Naya uncrossed her arms. "No, I didn't get a chance to read it yet."

Heather continued in her excitement. "Brad totally re-worked the last Brittana scene so we're not just talking with Ms. Holiday again. It's way better. Santana walks up to Brittany at her locker and …" Heather stopped her ramble. Naya nodded her head forward, urging her to continue. "No, I don't want to ruin it for you. But you have to call me like right after you read it because it's such an awesome scene and I just know you're gonna kill it."

Heather jumped forward toward Naya and wrapped her arms around her neck. Naya laughed a little and wrapped her arms around Heather's waist, quickly taking in the sweet scent of her before she pulled away.

Heather was smiling as she let go of Naya. "Sorry, I just get so excited because I know you're gonna knock this scene out of the park."

"I'm sure both of us will," Naya smiled back.

"Food time! Grab a plate!" Ashley yelled out from the kitchen.

Naya took Heather's hand, "Come on, let's get some birthday food," and led them both to the kitchen.

* * *

After dinner everyone lounged in the living room sipping on wine and watching Heather open her birthday presents. Heather sat in the comfy Papasan chair. Naya sat on the couch next to her, her legs curled up beneath her and a glass of wine in her hand. Diana, Ashley and Reid sat on the other couch next to Heather with the coffee table in front of them while Nikki and Jay sat on the floor, Jay with his back against the couch and Nikki sitting between his legs and leaning back against his chest.

Heather was holding up a DVD with a huge smile on her face. "Oh my God, Jay! I can't believe you found it." The DVD had the words 'Xmas Show 2007' written on it.

Jay was smiling, happy that Heather liked her gift so much. "Yeah, it took me forever to track it down. I swear I saw someone recording that show. I knew there had to be a copy of it somewhere."

"I still think those were some of the best numbers we ever danced and choreographed," Nikki added.

"Well duh, all three of us were on fire that night. By far my favorite show," Heather said as she tossed the wrapping paper in a plastic bag. "I still don't know how we even pulled it off though. Jay was a mess while we choreographed it and you two were a nervous wreck the whole night."

"Yeah, performance anxiety can be a bitch," Naya commented.

"Oh no, it wasn't that," Nikki negated.

"Yeah, Jay was crushing hard on Nikki for a few weeks and then like an hour before the show he had the bright idea to tell her how he really felt about her," said Heather.

Nikki continued the story. "He ended up kissing me in the dressing room and I freaked out and avoided him for the rest of the night."

"Wait, so you mean there was a time when you two weren't madly in love with each other?" Naya joked.

"We had been friends and professional partners for a really long time," Jay said as he set his wine glass down on the coffee table.

"And I freaked out because I was all confused about how I felt about him and scared that we could never have a normal friendship again," Nikki added.

"Plus you had that rule," Heather pointed out.

"Right, my rule. Don't get sexually or romantically involved with co-workers," Nikki clarified.

Naya leaned forward, now genuinely curious. "So what happened? How'd you two end up together?"

Nikki turned her head back looking at Jay to see if he'd tell the rest of the story. Jay curled his arms around her waist and kissed her on the nose. "I like it better when you tell it."

Nikki smiled and turned her attention back to the group. "Well I was a mess for a while because I'd always had a crush on him but I never considered actually being with him. After he kissed me I realized that I actually did want to be with him but he had a bit of a playboy reputation and I thought he just wanted a fling. Plus we worked together and I just thought things would get complicated. Then after a week of avoiding all his phone calls I got home one day and there he was on my front doorstep. He filled my entire lawn with all these different flowers and he had a marching band in my driveway playing 'Just the Two of Us.'"

Jay smiled. "I like to show off a bit."

"It was very romantic," Nikki turned her head and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Anyway, I realized he was actually being sincere about how he felt and I should at least give us try instead of pushing my feelings away and wondering if there could've been anything. So I gave us a chance and we've been together ever since."

"And I'm so glad you did baby." Jay hugged her tighter and placed a kiss on her cheek.

"Wow, what a great story," Diana commented.

"Yep. And now they're all lovey-dovey all the time," Heather said, slightly jaded.

Nikki looked a bit embarrassed. "I'm sorry Heather. You hear this story all the time. Hell, you had to deal with my incessant rambling when it actually happened. Enough about us. This is your day."

Jay grabbed the last present on the table, which was small and square shaped, wrapped with red paper. "Here, I think there's one more present left." He slid it across the table toward Heather.

She picked it up and easily unwrapped it. It was a small gray jewelry box with a metal clasp on it.

"Oh, did Taylor send you something?" Ashley asked.

"No, that one's from me," Naya said as she finished sipping her wine.

Heather opened the box and a smile immediately appeared on her face. "Nay! Oh my God, how'd you know I wanted this?"

Naya shrugged. "You seemed really interested in it when we were at that jewelry store we found like a month ago. I saw you go back to look at it like five times while we were there. So later that week I went back to the store and got it for you."

Heather set the box down and launched herself at Naya, smothering her with a hug on the couch. "I love it! Seriously, you're like the bestest friend ever."

Naya thought she'd be used to these frequent outbursts of affection and gratitude by now but it still caught her by surprise every time.

"Well I guess we all know where the rest of us stand in the scheme of things," Reid commented under his breath.

Ashley, who was sitting next to him, caught his remark. "Oh, shut it Reid," she scoffed. "They've been joined at the hip since they met. You wish you had a friend who did cool shit like that for you."

Ashley reached across the table and picked up the opened box to examine its contents. Inside was a simple silver ring with a very distinctive design: two hands clasping a heart, surmounted by a crown. "It's cool but … what is it?"

Diana who was sitting on Ashley's other side peered over to look at the ring. "Oh, I've seen those before. It's a Claddagh ring."

"I've heard of those too," Nikki added and turned toward Heather who was just sitting back down. "Aren't those supposed to be like Irish family heirlooms or something though?"

"Beats me," Heather shrugged. "I just thought it looked really pretty in the store. And I really like the design on it," she said as she nodded and smiled.

Diana took the box from Ashley, looking curiously at the ring. "No, they're not heirlooms, although I guess you could use it as an heirloom. But there's a certain way you're supposed to wear it."

"Oh Yeah! Something to do with the heart on it right?" Nikki said.

"Yep." Diana explained further. "The hands holding the heart symbolize 'friendship', the heart obviously symbolizes 'love' and the crown symbolizes 'loyalty.' And then if you wear it on your right hand with the heart pointed toward your fingertips, it's supposed to mean that you're single. If it's on your right hand with the heart pointed up toward your heart it means you've found love or your heart has been captured. On the left hand with the heart pointed out means you're engaged and on the left with the heart pointed in means you're married."

Jay looked up at Diana slightly baffled and somewhat amused. "How do you know all that?"

Diana shrugged and twirled her finger around up by her head. "There's a lot of random stuff floating around up there." She handed the box back to Heather.

Heather smiled down at the ring and took it out of the box. "I guess I'll wear it like this then." She slipped the ring on her right hand ring finger with the heart facing outward toward her fingertips.

"Leave it to Naya to find like the most perfect gift," Ashley teased as she stood up from the couch. "More wine anyone?"

Naya turned down Ashley's offer at a second glass of wine. One glass was enough and she still needed to drive home. She watched as Heather beamed down at her new ring. Naya was glad that Heather liked her gift so much, but she felt herself blush a bit when Diana was explaining the symbolism behind the design on it. Initially, Naya wanted to give the ring to Heather as a token of their strong friendship, like a keepsake or memento, but she had no idea there was so much meaning in one simple artifact. Knowing all the folklore behind it, she felt like giving that ring to Heather meant a lot more now that she originally thought. But either way, it _was_ kind of the perfect gift. Heather was Naya's best friend and Naya would always love her, as a best friend should, and because of that, Heather would always have Naya's trust and loyalty.

Everyone sat around the living room chatting and regaling old stories for the next hour or so. It started getting late and Jay and Nikki decided it was time to leave. Naya decided to leave with them, figuring she'd go home and actually get some decent shuteye before waking up early to get a head start on the next day.

"Thanks for the awesome dinner Diana," Jay said as he grabbed his jacket.

Naya pulled Diana in for a quick hug. "Yeah, dinner was great Di. Thanks."

"No prob. We're still on for the salon tomorrow right?" Diana said as she pulled away from the hug.

"Yep. I'll give you a call in the morning." Naya smiled at her and walked over to Heather.

Heather was waiting for her. She held up her hand and smiled down at her ring.

"So you like it," Naya said.

Heather shook her head up and down, "I love it. It's awesome," and wrapped her arms around Naya pulling her close.

Naya wrapped her arms around Heather's waist. "Happy birthday HeMo. I hope it was a good one," Naya whispered into her neck.

"Of course it was. A surprise serenade at midnight, dinner with my friends, awesome gifts. It was perfect."

Naya gave her a warm smile as they pulled away from their embrace.

"Drive home safe," Heather said.

"Will do," Naya said as she grabbed her purse and left.

Heather walked to the kitchen where Diana was cleaning up some of the dirty dishes and throwing away the extra food left on the plates. Ashley was piling the dirty pots and pans next to the sink to be washed. Heather went to the sink and turned it on, rolling up her sleeves to start cleaning.

"Oh no ya don't," Ashley chided as she bumped Heather away with her hip.

"Oh come on! You haven't let me lift a finger all day. The least I can do is help clean up."

"I let you bash the smoke detector didn't I?"

"From what you said, you didn't exactly let her. She just kinda did it," Diana commented as she scraped some food off a plate and into the trashcan.

Ashley's cell phone rang in her back pocket. She pulled out the phone and looked at the caller ID. "I gotta take this but this argument isn't over. Just don't let Zack come in and knock all the pots over like last time. That was a bitch to clean up." She answered her phone. "Hey baby!"

Heather rolled her eyes and turned to the dishes next to the sink as Ashley walked to the other room to take her call.

"She should come with a warning label," Diana joked.

Heather picked up a plate and ran it under the water. "Yeah, she can be a handful but she's fun and she always means well." Heather opened the dishwasher and placed the plate inside.

"So was it a good birthday?" Diana asked as she scooped the extra lasagna out of the serving dish and into some Tupperware.

"Yeah, I'm not really used to celebrating my birthday all that much, so today was awesome!" Heather smiled. "What was the big thing Naya had planned for last night though?"

"Oh! that was gonna be great. She rented out this private room for all of us at Luigi's—"

"Oh man! I love that place. Best mushroom ravioli and tiramisu I've ever had."

"Yeah, she knew it was your favorite. So she rented out this big private room for all of us and even hired a band to play later. We all played along with the whole 'Party at Kevin's' misdirection and she was gonna blindfold you and take you over there. But that all got screwed up because of the extra shooting we had so she had to call and cancel. We figured we'd actually have a party at Kevin's and just do a smaller version of that there."

Heather had a huge smile on her face. "That girl never ceases to amaze me."

"She just wants to make sure you feel loved." Diana walked over to Heather giving her a quick hug and a peck on the side of her head. "We all do."

Heather smiled wide. She did feel quite special, knowing she had friends that cared so much about her. She cheerfully went back to washing dishes. Diana hummed a tune as she started picking up scraps of trash around the kitchen and throwing them in the trashcan.

Heather caught on to the melody Diana was humming and looked up at her curiously. "Hey, that's a cool song. Where have I heard that before?"

"Darren played it last night. It's been stuck in my head all day. It's pretty catchy. Some new song Train is working on."

"Hmm. Cool." Heather picked up a pan filled with a generous amount of extra red sauce.

Diana continued humming the chorus and sang the few bits of lyrics she could remember.

'_Oh, I swear to ya, I'll be there for ya_

_This is not a drive by-y-y-y-y'_

In an instant Heather's whole body jolted and seized up, causing her to drop the pan. It made several loud clanking noises as it crashed down on the other dishes on the counter and red sauce spilled over the side and onto the floor.

"Whoa!" Diana reacted, jumping toward the counter to catch the pan before it fell on the floor.

Ashley could hear the noise from the living room and figured it was Zack who had knocked the dishes off the counter again. "Damn cat! Alright, on a scale of one to the Holocaust, how bad is it?" she called out.

"Everything's fine!" Diana called back as she placed the pan safely back on the countertop. She looked at Heather who was clutching the edge of the sink and breathing heavily as she stared at the running water. "Sweetie, are you okay?" Diana said placing a hand on Heather's shoulder.

Heather quickly retracted her shoulder from Diana's touch and backed away wringing her hands together. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Just … got lightheaded for a moment I guess."

Diana looked at her with concern. "You sure? Maybe you should go lay down or something."

Heather tried to steady her breathing. "Yeah, yeah that sounds like a good idea. I'm just gonna … gonna…" Heather stammered, her voice getting caught in her throat. "Go up to my… my room."

"Okay, I'll come check on you in a bit. Do you want water or anything?"

"No, I'm fine. I'm just gonna… gonna go." Heather walked out of the room and quickly made her way up the stairs and to her bedroom, shutting the door behind her. She stood in her room with a frightened look on her face and her back pressed up against the door.

She remembered everything. She remembered Naya looking really pretty last night, their conversation on the couch, dancing with Naya, hugging Naya and then having a moment where everything in her body compelled her to kiss Naya. She remembered pulling her into the bathroom and practically launching herself at the brunette. She'd never kissed anyone like that, let alone a girl. Taylor, maybe a handful of times, but never with that much heated intensity and desperation. And the way Naya kissed her back. It was like an explosion, like dropping Mentos into a liter of Diet Coke. Both of them, the way they were all over each other, wanting each other, needing each other.

_Holy crap!_ She gulped._ I made out with Naya._

Heather was completely freaking out. Her whole body felt like it was on fire and about to burst off into a thousand different directions. She made her way to the bed and laid down staring up at the ceiling. She took a few deep breaths trying to steady her breathing. She felt like she was in a whirlwind tunnel with everything going a hundred miles an hour and yet nothing in the room was moving. She closed her eyes to see if she could calm down but when she did that all she could see was the two of them wildly making out in the bathroom; Heather pinning Naya to the door and running her hand up her shirt, kissing her neck, pulling off her own shirt, sitting up on the sink and ripping Naya's shirt off her shoulders, Naya kissing down her neck and chest. All she could feel was faint sensational remnants of Naya's touch and Naya's lips on hers and all over her body.

She opened her eyes and it took her a few minutes to regain a certain measure of comfort. Her face had softened and she felt a bit more at ease as the event replayed in her head with a little less anxiety. She didn't know what to make of it. She didn't know how she felt about it. She knew she was scared out of her mind.

_I mean, I didn't know I could do that. And that move with her bra strap. How the hell did I come up with that? I've never done anything like that before. I've never really kissed a girl before. Definitely not like that. And, holy shit, I mean this is Naya we're talking about here. My best friend. This is totally going to make things awkward. But wait … Naya didn't seem awkward today … maybe she doesn't remember. That's gotta be it. Okay, I can't say anything. I can't tell anyone about this._

As the initial shock wore off, Heather's body relaxed into her bed and her thoughts became quieter. It allowed for a few more subtle feelings to creep into her consciousness. As everything from the night before flickered through her mind, she started feeling something odd that she didn't quite expect. The more she remembered her and Naya kissing, the more she felt like she really liked it. It actually made her feel excited. She remembered Naya's lips felt amazing and it actually felt kind of good to kiss her and touch her like that.

_She's actually a really good kisser … like really, really good… and her boobs looked amazing in that bra._

Heather's head was swimming. She didn't know if she was excited, happy, nervous, or scared. Possibly a combination of all of it but she couldn't tell. Her senses were overloaded and she didn't know what to think until it got to a point where she felt like she just didn't know anything anymore. She lay in bed, a confused wreck, replaying everything in her head until she fell asleep.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please, please review. They're very much appreciated :)


	5. Up All Night

A/N: Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed. You all are incredibly kind and generous and you make me want to keep writing. The reviews have been so encouraging and they're much appreciated :)

Okay, so for some reason this chapter was kind of difficult to write and I'm not sure how I feel about it but I'll let you all be the judge of it. Please let me know what you think.

And don't forget, you can look me up on Tumblr. My URL is posted in my FF profile and I post all my updates on tumblr so it's a good place to check for updates or if you have any questions about the story you can drop me a line.

Disclaimer: This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

Bold As Love

Ch. 5 Up All Night

Naya was lying in bed, wide-awake. When she got home she felt like she might actually be able to sleep tonight. She had insomnia problems since she was a kid and with her hectic schedule it was rare for her to have a full night's rest. She would go through bouts of insomnia where some nights she felt lucky to get even two hours of sleep and other times, when it was really bad, she would go over forty-eight hours without sleeping, not because she didn't want to but because she just couldn't fall asleep. Since she had the next day off she was hoping that tonight she might actually get a full eight hours of rest but the second she laid her head on the pillow she knew she was in for a long night of tossing and turning.

Per usual, she couldn't shut her mind off. She was thinking about that story Jay and Nikki told after dinner, about how they got together. They really were a couple of lovebirds. Naya often dwelled on matters of the heart. But it was a tricky thing to think about. Love isn't exactly something tangible like an object. You can't hold it in your hand like an apple or smell it like a flower. Naya had only ever seen honest-to-god, true love twice in her life. She saw it the first time she saw Mark and Maddie together and she saw it whenever she was around Jay and Nikki. It was hard to explain exactly what it looked like but she knew she could see it in those moments. For all the doubt that filled her mind, those few moments of recognition were something that gave her hope that some version of love and happiness actually did exist, that it wasn't just some myth she'd been force fed her whole life through epic fairy tale romances and Hollywood romantic comedies.

Her mind kept wrapping around the story Jay and Nikki told and the way they smile at each other and the way Mark was with Maddie. Their words seeped into the forefront of her mind, echoing in her head.

She thought of Mark's opinion on the cynics of the world and her own fear of being hurt.

'_They're too skeptical and don't even let the chance of it exist'_

She thought of what Nikki had said about giving her feelings for Jay a chance.

'_I figured I should at least give us a try instead of pushing my feelings away and wondering if there could've been anything'_

She thought of Mark's convictions on love.

'_Love isn't just a feeling. It's an ability … It's a leap of faith … You have to be open to it … let yourself feel it'_

She thought of what he'd said about those who find love,

'_They don't hold back just because the odds are against them'_

And those who are too skeptical and let it pass them by.

'_The love of your life could be staring you right in the face'_

Maybe they were right. Naya held up her guard a lot when it came to love, not allowing herself to develop her feelings to the fullest extent and running the risk of things ending badly. Maybe she should just let her feelings be, instead of trying to edit and control them. She closed her eyes and tried to quiet her mind. Just as she was slipping into that in between stage of not being fully awake or fully asleep, another remnant of her long ago conversation with Mark echoed in her head.

'_I see the way you look at her … like the world could be ending but as long as you're with her nothing else matters.'_

Suddenly in her mind's eye, she could picture Heather smiling. She could feel remnants of Heather's kiss on her lips. She could feel her warmth from that morning when she woke up holding Heather in her arms. Endless visions of Heather played through her head; Heather's smile, her laugh, her eyes, the way she moves. It was a montage of every moment she'd ever spent with Heather. It was the last thing she could remember before she eventually fell asleep.

* * *

Heather's eyes shot wide open. A moment ago she was perfectly asleep and in an instant she jolted herself awake. The sunlight was pouring into her room. She rolled onto her side to look at the digital clock next to her bed with her forearm propping her upper body up and squinting her eyes as she tried to adjust her vision to the bright light in the room.

_8:17am_

She rolled onto her back, letting her head hit the pillow in a huff. The alarm hadn't gone off yet but there was no way she was going to get an extra ten minutes of sleep, not now. She lay there thinking about the dream that had startled her awake.

It wasn't a particularly scary dream. It wasn't even a nightmare. In fact, by all standards it was quite a pleasant dream.

_Heather was at the beach walking in the surf and gazing out at the most beautiful early morning sunrise. There was a calm breeze and she could hear the gentle sound of the waves lapping up on the shore. Off in the distance she could see another figure on the beach walking toward her. As they approached each other she could see it was a girl with tanned skin and long, incredibly dark brown hair. She was wearing a soft, coral colored dress that blew in the breeze and she had a white flower in her hair. The girl was smiling and waving at her, calling her name. She knew that voice. It was so familiar. She could recognize it anywhere. It was Naya. Heather smiled back at her as they walked up to each other in the surf. They stood smiling at each other for a moment before they both started giggling. When they stopped, Naya took Heather's hand, drawing their bodies close together. Both girls were leaning into each other, their lips about to touch._

That's when Heather jolted awake and ended the dream.

She felt torn and confused. On the one hand it was a really nice dream. She liked it. She knew that much. But she also thought she probably shouldn't be having a dream like that. Not about her best friend. She figured it was probably just some random tangent of what she had be thinking about before she went to sleep, when she remembered what happened with Naya at Kevin's party. She decided that it was just a dream and it would be easier to just ignore it.

She got up out of bed and went to her bathroom to start her morning routine, trying to distract herself from dwelling on the fact that it was one of the best dreams she'd had in a while and it scared the hell out of her.

* * *

Naya slowly blinked her eyes open. She was curled up in bed and lying on her side. She glanced over at the clock on the end table.

_8:17am_

She didn't necessarily have to be up yet so she lay there a little longer. She felt cold, even though the blanket was pulled all the way up to her chest. She tugged on it a bit so her entire body was covered except for her head, resting on the pillow.

It was a stark contrast to how she'd woken up the day before, with Heather curled up next to her. She'd give anything to wake up like that again, holding Heather in her arms and softly singing to her, gazing at her angelic face while she peacefully slept. The thought of it made her smile.

All she wanted was more of Heather. She wanted to hold her hand, just to know she was close. She wanted to kiss her and wrap her arms around her. She'd do anything just to see her smile. She wanted to hear her laugh. She wanted to sing to her, dance with her, cook for her, watch kitschy romance movies with her, buy flowers for her. She wanted to wake up next to her, holding her, every morning and fall asleep with her every night.

Just the thought of doing all that made her smile even more, and then … it hit her. Like an atomic bomb, or a baseball to the head, or like she'd discovered that there was such a thing as color in the world. She couldn't believe she had been so blind to it. How could she not see it before? Or maybe she did see it but just avoided it out of some type of involuntary attempt at self-preservation. Either way, it was perfectly clear to her now, and there was no escaping it. Nothing had ever been more vividly true.

_Oh my God, I think … No, I know … I'm in love with my best friend … I'm in love with Heather.  
_

* * *

Heather was sitting at the desk in her living room waving her hand in front of the little camera at the top of her macbook. "Mom? Mom, can you see me?"

"No honey, but I can hear you. How do I get this to work again?"

Heather had set up Skype for her mom so they could video chat. Heather knew her mom missed her a lot. With Heather being the youngest of three girls, her mom worried about her the most. Phone calls were great but Heather thought it might be comforting for her mom to at least see her on a weekly basis instead of every few months when either one of them visited each other. But her mom always had a little trouble with the video portion of it.

"You gotta press the video button mom," Heather said dejected. She had to say it every time they tried to skype.

A video box popped up on the screen and Heather could see her mom sitting in the office of her house in Arizona.

"There you are!" her mom beamed with excitement

"Hey," Heather smiled and waved at the screen.

"Hey Mrs. Morris!" Ashley yelled from the couch across the room.

"Ashley, how many times have I told you to call me Jeannie?"

"Sorry Mrs. Morris." Ashley scrunched her face and then corrected herself. "I mean, Jeannie."

Heather smiled and turned her attention back to the screen. "So how are you? How's everything at home?"

"Oh I'm fine honey. How was your birthday? Did you have fun? I'm sorry I couldn't call yesterday. I was in meetings all day."

Heather shrugged her shoulders. "No biggie. I know you're busy."

"So tell me about your birthday. Did you get any exciting gifts? Anything fun happen?"

"Yeah! The whole cast surprised me last—"

"Did Taylor call you?" her mom inquired excitedly as she cut Heather off.

Heather abruptly stopped and rolled her eyes. "Yes mom. He called and left a voicemail."

Heather's mom absolutely loved Taylor. It was no secret that she wanted them to work things out and end up together.

Heather attempted to continue where her mom previously cut her off but she barely got one more word in when her mom cut her off again.

Jeannie's eyes darted down to Heather's hand resting on the desk and her eyes popped wide open. "Oh my! Honey, what a beautiful ring. Is that new? Did Taylor get you that?"

Heather's eyes shot down to the ring on her hand. She quickly covered it with her other hand and jolted it down to hide under the table. She totally forgot that she was still wearing the ring Naya gave her.

"Oh uh, no, no." Heather was a bit flustered. She could never articulate anything when she was nervous. "It was just, ya know, um, something I liked so, I uh…" she stammered.

Ashley was walking passed the desk behind Heather with a bowl of cereal in her hand. "Naya got it for her for her birthday."

Heather whipped her head around, looking like she just heard a gunshot go off and nervously looked back at her mom on the computer screen.

"Oh," Jeannie was a bit surprised and her excitement deflated.

Her mom had always been a little put off about how close Heather was with Naya and how fast their friendship formed. Heather had asked her why it didn't sit well with her on a few occasions. Her mom always shrugged it off saying that Naya seemed like a nice girl but there was just something that gave her a bad vibe. That, added with the fact that Taylor wasn't the one who got her a ring for her birthday was the perfect recipe for an awkward moment and one of her mom's signature fake smiles, which really meant she was trying to hide her disapproval.

Jeannie tried to find something nice to say as she forced a smile. "Well, that was very nice of her."

Heather could see her mom's less than stellar enthusiasm. "I just saw it in a store and she knew I liked it. That's all." She tried to put a cap on the topic.

"Well, I'm glad you had a good birthday honey."

There was an awkward silence as Heather tried to avoid eye contact with her mom on the screen. She started fidgeting with her hands and turning the ring around and around on her finger.

"Well, uh, I gotta go mom," Heather wanted to get away from this conversation and fast.

"Okay. I'll see you later this week?"

"Yeah, we're pretty busy at work but I'll let you know if I have some downtime so we can skype again."

"Okay. I love you sweetie. And Happy Birthday."

"Thanks mom. Love you too."

Heather ended the call and stood up from the desk chair. She continued nervously turning the ring around and around on her finger as she walked to the kitchen to see what Ashley's plans were for the day.

* * *

Diana and Naya were sitting at an outside café table next to the salon, enjoying the sun and the late morning breeze as they chatted. While they sipped their coffees, both of them tried to be careful not to smudge the nail polish on their newly manicured nails, even though they were probably already dry.

They were talking about various books they'd read and which ones they hadn't but wanted to read. Both of them were avid readers. Naya loved reading. It was a constant part of her life ever since she could remember. But people tended to make a lot of assumptions about Naya based on her looks. Consequently, a lot of people didn't think of her as a bookworm, like she couldn't be pretty and smart at the same time. It annoyed her. Thankfully, Diana was also a girl who was pretty and as much, if not more, of a bookworm than Naya, so she understood the feeling. Naya always liked discussing topics that were probably more reserved for academia with Diana. They shared a lot of the same views and had similar tastes in literature but also challenged each other to think a little deeper and differently about the subject matter.

Diana was talking about how 'On The Road' was finally being made into a film. People had been trying to make a film version of it for over twenty-five years and always found it was too difficult, so she hoped the beloved novel would accurately be translated to the screen without losing its integrity.

Normally Naya would be completely engrossed in a conversation like this. Books-turned-into-films was actually one of her favorite topics of discussion with Diana. But she found that she had to constantly force herself to check back in with the conversation. Her thoughts kept drifting. She kept wondering what Heather was doing, when she would be seeing her again. Should she text her or give her a call? Maybe they could hang out later. They did have a lot of scenes together coming up. Maybe they could hang out and run lines or talk about the scenes just to make sure they were on the same page.

Diana's voice drifted back into her consciousness. "…I mean it's a one of a kind. I just hope they capture the spirit of it. I think that's what I'm looking forward to the most."

"Yeah, totally." Naya's tone of voice was of complete indifference.

Diana raised her eyebrow, a little curious about Naya's odd behavior. "You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine."

"Okay, cuz you seem a little distracted."

"Sorry." Naya shook her head rapidly for a split second trying to shake off all the thoughts in her head and focus on her conversation with Diana.

Diana put on a clever smirk and decided to tease Naya a bit. "I mean I at least expected some type of comment about how Jack Kerouac's writing is too frenetic to translate to film or if they wanted to make a Beat film that was a little more bat shit crazy they could've gone with a Naked Lunch remake or a Bukowski book-turned-flik."

Naya smiled at Diana's making fun of the fact that she hadn't been paying attention to the conversation at all. Diana still had that clever smirk on her face and nodded her head forward, challenging Naya to make a more insightful response to her comment.

Naya decided to play along. "Well it wouldn't matter if a Bukowski book was made by the worst director in town. It would still make sense, so long as they serve a complimentary bottle of scotch to every ticket holder."

Diana raised her eyebrows. "Aha, there's the girl I thought I'd been talking to for the last ten minutes."

Naya opened her mouth to respond, but just then Diana's cell phone that was resting on the café table rang.

Diana glanced down to see the caller ID. "Hold on a sec. It's Lea." She answered the call and brought the phone to her ear. "Hey, what's up?"

Naya took another sip of her coffee.

Diana angled her phone away from her mouth and spoke to Naya. "Hey, you wanna do lunch with Lea, Darren, and Jenna?"

Naya shrugged. "Sure."

Diana went back to speaking with Lea on the phone. "Yeah, we're on our way."

Naya just hoped Lea wasn't picking out the place. Naya was all for healthy eating but Lea came up with some of the weirdest vegan and health food trends. Naya and Heather sometimes joked in private about some of the crazy vegan and health food dishes Lea had them try from time to time. And they usually joked about it while they were scarfing down a pizza, which just made it all the more fun.

A thought crossed Naya's mind and simultaneously a warm smile crossed her lips. She bounced in her seat and leaned forward, her eyes filled with excitement. "Hey, is Heather going?"

A quizzical look flashed across Diana's face as she responded to Naya's quesiton. "Um, I know she wasn't feeling well after you left last night but why don't you give her a call."

Naya's face fell. Heather wasn't feeling well? Naya hoped it wasn't anything serious. She quickly went to her recent calls list on her phone and called Heather. It rang and rang but no one picked up. Naya didn't leave a voicemail and sent her a text message instead.

_**Hey, I heard you weren't feeling well. Is everything okay? Call me or text me and let me know.**_

Diana had just hung up the phone when Naya was done sending the message. "Did she answer?"

"No, I sent her a text." Naya placed her phone back on the table. "So she wasn't feeling well? What was wrong? She didn't get sick or anything did she?" Naya's voice was filled with concern.

That quizzical look returned to Diana's face. "No, she was just feeling a little lightheaded. She was asleep when I went to check on her before I left. Nothing to worry about."

Naya sighed with relief and looked back to her phone, picking it up to type out another message to Heather.

_**Btw, if you're feeling better, a bunch of us are grabbing lunch if you wanna join**_

Diana smirked as she watched Naya frantically type out the text message and hit the send button. "Your concern for her is quite adorable though."

Naya could feel her nerves jump a bit. She pulled her big, bug-eyed sunglasses down from on top of her head to cover her eyes. "She's my best friend. I just wanna make sure she's okay," she shrugged.

Diana brought her coffee cup up to her lips. "Hmm, I didn't know best friends made out in bathrooms together."

Naya's face flashed red-hot and her eyes bugged out. "You saw us?"

"You know you can see straight into the front hallway from the living room right? Plus, Heather wasn't exactly discreet about yanking you off that table. I'm surprised she didn't jump your bones right there in the middle of the room."

"Was it that obvious?"

"No." Diana gave her a reassuring smile. "But I can read both of you like an open book. You two were practically undressing each other with your eyes. I was expecting something like that to happen."

Naya started to become worried. She still didn't think Heather remembered anything and she didn't want someone to make an offhand comment about it. "Does anyone else know?"

Diana shook her head. "I doubt it. I don't think anyone else was really paying attention." Diana finished the last sip of her coffee. "Although I have to say, the look on Kevin's face when you opened the door was priceless."

Naya leaned forward in her seat. "Di, please, you can't say anything. I don't think she remembers any of it."

"Wow, really? I mean you guys haven't talked about it or anything?"

"No, and I know her. She'll freak out. She's never done anything like that with a girl."

"Have you?" Diana plainly asked.

The question hit Naya with a thud. People always assumed she was straight when in reality she was equally attracted to both men and women. She never offered up anything about her sexual orientation though. She always just let people assume what they want.

"Um," Naya faltered for a moment. "Well yeah. I had a few crushes I pursued after high school. Nothing that panned out though."

Naya leaned back in her chair for a moment and looked away towards the fountain in the center of the plaza as she organized her thoughts. She pulled her sunglasses back on top of her head and leaned forward to look at Diana. "Look, I know she'll freak out about it and if she doesn't remember then that's fine but I don't want things to be weird between the two of us."

"Well how are you doing? I mean how do you feel about it?" Diana was genuinely concerned.

Naya was silent for a moment trying to find the right thing to say. She slammed her eyes shut in frustration. She wasn't ready to say what she truly felt out loud yet. She opened her eyes and in a stern but desperate manner stated the most practical response she could think of. "Listen, it was a one time thing. It probably won't happen again and I don't want to give her a reason to feel uncomfortable around me. I don't want to fuck anything up. I'd rather be her friend than nothing at all."

Diana's eyes popped wide with the sort of enthusiasm one gets when they discover something new. A smile slowly crossed her face. "Oh my God, you totally have a crush on her."

Naya's face flashed red-hot again.

"Ah! You're totally blushing. You like her!"

"Di, please," Naya pleaded. "Promise me you won't say anything."

Diana continued with her excitement. "I mean I always figured something was there between you two but neither of you ever said anything. Oh man, but this is like, completely legit now. You're crushing hardcore on Heather!"

"Di!" Naya said sternly in order to cover up her painfully bashful eyes.

Diana read the look on Naya's face and decided to tone it down. She'd had her fun but her friend was looking for reassurance now. Diana's face softened and she nodded her head. "Okay, Okay. I promise I won't say anything."

Naya felt herself become a little lighter and relaxed back into her chair.

Diana leaned forward with earnest concern. "But you can't ignore your feelings for her forever. At some point you're going to have to deal with the fact that you like her as more than a friend."

Naya looked down at her fidgeting hands in her lap. "I know. Just … not right now. I'm not ready. She's not ready for that."

"Okay," Diana spoke softly. "You know if you need anything you can always talk to me right?"

"Yeah, I know … thanks Di."

Diana softly smiled back at her. "Okay, let's get going. They're probably waiting for us."

They stood up from the table and walked side by side toward the main street where Diana's car was parked.

Diana clicked her tongue. "Man, I should've known. That ring was a dead give away," she joked.

Naya scrunched her face and flicked her leg back and out to the side to smack Diana on the butt with her foot, showing her disapproval. "No jokes from the peanut gallery."

"Ow! Okay, Okay." Diana rubbed the spot where Naya kicked her and then smiled. Then she pulled Naya into a side hug and kissed the top of her head.

* * *

Heather was sweating profusely as she hit the last beat of the song she was dancing to. Her heart was pounding with adrenaline and her white razorback tank top was sticking to her back and stomach but her body felt like it just had a fleeting injection of pure clarity. She just went through three songs that she'd choreographed routines for. She had a whole playlist of songs and dances she used whenever she needed to release a bit of nervous energy. They weren't routines or performances anyone was ever going to see. They were just for her when she needed to dance out her anxiety and get some peace of mind.

She was using one of the dance rooms in Jay and Nikki's studio they'd set up a few years ago. Heather had played a huge part in helping them set up their own studio. It was a dream of theirs for a long time and Heather was glad to help make that dream a reality without asking anything in return. They wanted to enlist her as a choreographer and dancer in some of their bigger projects but at the time Heather's career was taking off and she had to respectfully decline. Although it was nice to know that if shit ever hit the fan with her career she'd always have a job waiting for her working with Jay and Nikki. As a token of their appreciation they gave her a key to the studio so she could use it whenever she wanted. This place was her sanctuary. She knew she could come here anytime, day or night, and there would be a dance room waiting for her if she ever needed to dance anything out. Heather was also probably the only person they trusted to give a spare key to.

Heather walked over to the corner of the room where the sound system was and turned it off. She sat down in a chair next to the sound system and reached down for her water bottle. She chugged half of it and relaxed back into her chair, closing her eyes. The cold water felt good in contrast to the heat radiating off her body.

She felt better. She felt lighter. Her head was still a confused wreck though. Every time she closed her eyes an image of her and Naya making out would flash through her head. She was still a bit on edge about it, not knowing what to feel. She wasn't about to start dwelling on anything though. She quickly opened her eyes and shook her head, squeezing out the remaining cold water in the bottle on her face and over her head. She was gasping and panting from the sudden change in temperature but quickly calmed down as a bead of water slid down to the tip of her nose.

She glanced down to her cell phone, which was resting on the floor next to her chair. A small red light was blinking, indicating that she had a new notification. She picked it up and turned it off of sleep mode. A missed call and two text messages from Naya. She read the text messages and stared at the screen with her finger hovering over the reply button. She set the phone back down on the floor and sat back in her seat staring down at the phone. After a moment she picked it up again with every intention to text her back but her finger just hovered over the reply button again. She bent down to put the phone back on the floor, stopped herself, and brought it back up to her eye level. She did this back and forth several times before throwing the phone in her lap and placing her head in her hands.

_You're being ridiculous. It's just Naya. You've never not responded to her. She's just checking up on you and being her normal self. You're the one who's freaking out. Stop freaking out!_

She picked up the phone from her lap and typed out a response.

_**I'm fine. I can't make lunch tho. I'm running errands today. **_

She took her phone and water bottle and walked out to the hallway where the water fountain was so she could fill up her bottle. When she was done her phone buzzed again with a text from Naya.

_**K. Glad you're feeling better. You're not missing out on much. Lea's got us at this vegan thai place. I'd sell my left arm for a steak sandwich right now. We need another junk food night soon :P**_

Heather smiled. She set her bottle down on the water fountain and texted her back.

_**Next night off? We can split a pizza**_

Heather twisted the top back onto her water bottle and headed back to the dance room. Naya had already texted her back before she even got back to the chair.

_**I'll bring the sour patch kids, you get the twizzlers and skittles. Sunny D soccer winner gets the candy**_

Without so much as a second thought, Heather excitedly texted her back.

_**Deal!**_

She set her phone down on the chair and picked up her iPod from the dock on the sound system. She was trying to decide which song she wanted to dance to next.

Her phone buzzed on the chair with another text from Naya. She placed the iPod down and read the text.

_**And I'll totally kick your butt in Sunny D soccer this time**_

Heather let out a small laugh and texted her back.

_**Not possible. You can't beat the inventor of Sunny D soccer**_

Heather's smile remained on her face as she set the phone down on the chair. She turned to the stereo system putting the iPod in its dock, lightly giggling at the memory of the time Naya and her drank an entire gallon of Sunny D and then proceeded to use the empty bottle as a soccer ball. Heather had decided to turn Naya's living room into a makeshift soccer field with goals at either end of the room. Sunny D soccer was born. The last time they played Naya had jokingly talked tough about how she was the best at Sunny D soccer, only to lose in a game against Heather, seven to zero. They'd played for hours that night just giggling at all the trick moves they could come up with and how ridiculously fun kicking an empty Sunny D bottle around was. Heather thought it was sort of amazing how the two of them could be entertained by the simplest things and never get bored of it. Actually, she corrected her thought, it was probably more because they never got bored of each other.

Heather giggled at the memory as she turned the stereo system back on. Naya always had a way of making her laugh and feel better if she was feeling anxious or nervous about something, apparently even when that nervous something had to do with Naya herself.

_Maybe I'm freaking out over nothing,_ she thought. _We were drunk. It was a one time thing, right? Naya's still my best friend. Just my friend. Nothing more. I should just forget the fact that we made out. _

Heather was trying desperately to convince herself that it meant nothing, that she didn't feel anything about it. She was ignoring the fact that it was the most exhilarating make out session she'd ever had and every time she closed her eyes she could still feel Naya's lips on hers. She tried desperately to push those thoughts away and replace them with ones that were more socially acceptable.

The phone buzzed again with Naya's reply. Heather picked up the phone to read the text.

_**That's co-inventor. Game on hemo! Have fun dancing at the studio …c ya tomorrow ;)**_

Heather was happily surprised.

_Whoa, how'd she know?_

Then Heather stared at the winking smiley face in the text, which in turn made her smile. It gave her an odd feeling in her stomach. How could something as simple as that make her stomach do a flip? She quickly became aware of herself and forced her face to erase the smile and turn back to neutral. She put the phone down on the chair and hit play on the iPod dock of the stereo system before returning to the dance floor.

* * *

Naya was starving when she got home late that afternoon. She had a granola bar and coffee that morning before going to the salon with Diana and she didn't eat much at Lea's vegan thai place they went to for lunch. Lea had insisted that Naya order a pumpkin curry tofu dish, or at least Naya thought that's what it was. She wasn't really sure. Naya wasn't a pumpkin fan to begin with but Lea had insisted that it was delicious. Naya ate a few bites of it just to give it a try and assured Lea that she thought it tasted 'interesting.' It was really just awful. Naya ended up pushing the food around the plate and ate a couple of spring rolls.

She was dieing for a real meal but didn't really want to cook anything. She checked the fridge and saw that she had some leftover chicken and veggies. That and some pasta would be fine for her only substantial meal of the day. She pulled out the pasta, filled a pot with water and turned on the stove.

She walked over to the couch with her phone to lay down while she waited for the water to boil. She lay her head on a throw pillow on one side of the couch with her legs stretched out and propped up on the armrest of the other side of the couch. She checked the twitter feed on her phone to see if there was anything interesting to respond to and then decided it would probably be a good idea to check her email so she knew what her call time was for the following day.

_7am for dance rehearsal. God, I hope I get some sleep tonight or else I'm gonna be fucking useless tomorrow morning._

She set her phone and her hands down across her stomach and stared up at the ceiling. After a moment, a smile lagged across her face. She was going to be seeing Heather tomorrow morning in dance rehearsal. She'd gladly wake up at the crack of dawn if it meant she was going to be seeing Heather.

She pulled her phone up to her eye level thinking she might give Heather a call just to say 'hey.' Really she just wanted to hear the sound of her voice. But Heather had said she was 'running errands' today. That phrase might be completely trivial to anyone else but Naya knew that Heather never actually used the term 'running errands.' For one, she hated the word 'errand' for some oddball reason. And secondly, if she was actually running errands she always said she was 'being responsible' because, to her, it entailed the type of things she never liked doing but had to do anyway because she was an adult who was accountable for her own well being and had to maintain certain nonnegotiable responsibilities. No, if she used the term 'running errands' it meant she was either using Jay and Nikki's dance studio or she was doing something that she just didn't want anyone to know about.

Naya decided not to call her and instead pulled up their text messages from earlier. She smiled at the idea of another junk food/Sunny D soccer night and couldn't wait for their next night off. She scrolled through some recent photos of them goofing off on set; them posing like James Bond with nerf guns, Heather giving Naya a piggy back ride, Heather hanging like a monkey off the side of a prop phone booth they'd found on the lot. The phone booth photo always made Naya laugh because Heather just looked so wacky.

Naya's smile quickly became unsettled though. Those were all instances of their wacky and goofy friendship, when Naya had actively been convincing herself that they were just that. Friends. But now, there was no denying the fact that Naya was completely in love with the girl and had been for a while now. She wasn't quite sure when it happened. She knew it had been staring her right in the face for some time and she'd just been ignoring it, not wanting to admit it to herself. But now that she had, it wasn't like she could just take it back. She was too aware of all the feelings she'd been denying herself for too long. What if when she saw Heather tomorrow she was completely overwhelmed with the need to kiss her or confess to the fact that she was in love with her? Because in all honesty, that's all Naya could think about all day. She had been daydreaming about ways to make Heather laugh just because she wanted to hear that amazing sound and see that smile that made Naya's stomach do flips. She kept wondering when, if ever, she was going to kiss Heather again. Hell, Naya would be perfectly happy with just holding her hand. But more than anything, Naya had been daydreaming about the improbable idea that if she told Heather how she really felt, that Heather might actually say it back. Naya thought that the chances of that happening were one in a million, but what if?

_Oh who are you kidding? Heather's not in love with you and she's never going to be. She's never going to love you as more than a friend. You wanna know why? Cuz she's not into girls!_

Naya grabbed at the pillow behind her head, swung it around and slammed it down on her face in frustration.

What if she _was_ different around Heather now? She had done fine texting her earlier but it was easy to pretend like everything was normal when she was texting because Heather couldn't see how blatantly nervous she was when she was sending those texts at lunch today. Even Darren had picked up on how nervous Naya was while she was texting Heather. Thank God Diana covered for her by distracting Darren with some random topic of conversation. But if texting Heather had made her that nervous then Naya could very well turn into a blubbering buffoon or evaporate into bubbles or God knows what, just at the sight of Heather.

Naya started smacking her face with the pillow, repeatedly.

_Stop it! Stop overanalyzing shit!_

She hugged the pillow close to her chest and slammed her eyes shut. She took a deep breath and tried to focus her thoughts.

_Okay, the best thing to do is to just go on like everything is normal, like nothing's changed. As far as Heather knows, we're still best friends and you're not in love with her, so just go with that. Whatever you do, don't let Heather know you're in love with her or else that'll really fuck everything up._

Naya got up from the couch and tossed the pillow to the side. She strode over to the stove and dumped the pasta in, stirring it before going to the fridge for a bottle of water. Her eye caught her script, which was still resting on top of the island counter.

_Work. That's it. I'll just throw myself into work. Work is always a good distraction. That way I won't drive myself nuts._

She grabbed a highlighter and pen out of one of the drawers, picked up her script and water bottle and went back to sit on the couch. She placed her water bottle and pens to the side and opened her script on the coffee table. She thumbed through it looking at all the minor rewrites and then flipped straight to the end where she knew the major rewrite for her storyline had been done. She leaned forward on the edge of the couch and read the lines out loud.

'…_I'm angry because I have all of these feelings.'_ She audibly gulped. _'Feelings for you, that I'm afraid of dealing with because I'm afraid of dealing with the consequences.'_

She shifted in her seat and closed her eyes for a brief moment while she quickly whipped her neck to the side, nervously stretching it. She took a quick breath, licked her lips and hesitantly continued reading out loud.

'… _but still I have to accept that I love you. I love you and I don't want to be with Sam or Finn or any of those other guys. I just want you. Please say you love me back. Please.'_

When she was done reading the rest of the scene she stared at the script sitting in front of her with her mouth gaping open. She drew in a quick breath on a gasp as a single tear escaped her eye and rolled down the left side of her cheek. She leaned her head forward resting it in her hands before she slowly moved her hands up her face and through her hair, gripping it as she cradled herself in a makeshift ball. She sniffled and sat there with her arms curled around her head.

_You have got to be kidding me_

She sat there for a moment feeling the sheer gravity and unbelievable timing of it all. Now? Really, now? Now is when the writers decide to dish out Santana's love confession? And what's more is she gets turned down. How the hell was she going to pull this off without being a complete emotional wreck, bordering on a total breakdown? It was all too real. Not only was she going to have to look Heather in the eye and tell her she loves her but she was going to get turned down. It was her worst fear. Sure it was acting but that was the point, bringing your emotional life to the material and living truthfully in imaginary circumstances. Naya had the emotional life by the truckload but the circumstances weren't all that imaginary. Where could she draw the line between herself and Santana? Between fiction and reality? For this, the timing, the content, given who she was going to be saying all this to, it was impossible. It's like the universe decided that now was the perfect time for her to bare her soul and all her strongest emotions all in one scene.

Naya heard a loud hissing noise that pierced through the room. She popped her head up out of her hands and looked over to the stove. The water was boiling over.

* * *

A/N: I hope you enjoyed and please leave a review if you feel so inclined :)


	6. Action' Is This Real Life? 'Cut'

**A/N:** I'm so so sorry for the longer than usual wait but if it's any consolation this is a rather long chapter, 11k+ words. This was a seriously difficult chapter to write and I had some major writer's block with it but hopefully it's up to the standard that you all enjoy.

Also, it has come to my attention that I've been spelling Dianna's name wrong this whole time, so I'm really really sorry about that. It's totally my bad. I don't have a beta on this or anything on this so all mistakes are completely mine.

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch.6 Action! Is This Real Life? Cut!**

Heather walked into the dance rehearsal studio, the "Tin Shed" as it was affectionately named. The front and side walls were lined with full-length mirrors so they could see themselves dancing while they rehearsed. The space was bare except for a few chairs up against the wall and a sound system in the corner. Naya was already there talking with Gwyneth over on the opposite side of the room. Naya was wearing athletic shorts with a tank top and a zip up hoodie. Heather stood there for a second, with her backpack slung over her shoulder as the door closed behind her. She gazed across the room looking at Naya who was bobbing her head back and letting out a carefree laugh, a huge smile on her face.

Naya's laughter resonated throughout the room. At the sound of it Heather felt a flutter in her stomach. Then it felt like someone had stretched a rubber band super tight inside her tummy and let it go, making it twist and knot. It didn't feel bad at all though. In fact it made her insides burst with warmth. It brought a smile to her face.

"HeMo!" Gwyneth excitedly called out from across the room. "Come here girlie," Gwyneth waved her arm out, beckoning the girl over.

Heather thought the smile on her face probably looked a bit dorky and took a moment to clear her throat, replacing her dorky smile with a simple, friendly one as she strode across the room. She tried to keep her focus on Gwyneth but she couldn't help but glance over at Naya. She shifted her eyes to the smiling brunette at least five times as she made her way across the room.

Gwyneth pulled Heather into a big hug. "It's been a while. How've you been? Not getting into any trouble I hope," she joked.

As Gwyneth hugged her, Heather glanced over at Naya, first to her brown eyes then down to her lips and back up again.

Naya's eyes quickly diverted and started darting up and down and all over the room, shifting her weight from one foot to the other. She became incredibly conscious of her hands and didn't know what to do with them as they involuntarily did a nervous little dance around her hips. She finally settled her footing for a second and then decided to swiftly turn around to where her bag was on the floor against the wall, kneeling in front of it to get her water bottle.

When Gwyneth let go of the hug, Heather placed her hands in her hoodie pockets and smiled back at her. "Good. Ya know, working a lot." Heather was surprised at how unsettled her voice sounded, like she had pop rocks in her throat or something. And her arms started feeling tingly.

"Yeah, this week is gonna be loads of fun with the three of us," Gwenyth turned slightly to give Naya a warm smile before turning back to Heather. "You two are in for quite a storyline."

Both Heather and Naya's eyes shot towards each other, connecting with what felt like an awkwardly tight string that filled the space between them. After a brief moment, both girls quickly broke eye contact. Naya whipped her head back to look down into her bag and Heather cleared her throat once again while trying to mask her sudden nervousness with a smile as she continued some small talk with Gwyneth.

Naya was looking down into her bag at nothing in particular. She chugged about half of her water bottle trying to calm herself down. When that didn't work she took a few small breaths to try and regain her composure. She shut her eyes for a moment trying to center herself.

_Okay. Come on, you can do this. You just gotta make it through this week without being an emotional wreck or making a complete fool of yourself with those googly eyes you just had when Heather walked in. Just one day at a time. Calm down. Breathe. _She took a few steady breaths and felt some of her frenetic energy dissipate. _You're here to do a job. So do your job, stay focused and you can worry about how screwed over your feelings are later._

Naya zipped up her bag and slowly stood up to join Gwyneth and Heather's conversation, masking all her feelings with a friendly enough smile.

"Hello ladies!" Zach's voice boomed from across the room as he walked in and made his way over to the girls.

"Zach attack!" Gwyneth gave him a toothy grin as she shouted back with excitement.

"I heard your wonderful face was gonna be hanging around here this week." Zach gave Gwyneth a warm and welcoming hug when he got over to them. "Glad to have you back Gwynnie."

"What are we? Chopped liver?" Heather joked to him.

Zach waved his hand forward, brushing off the comment, and joked back. "Pshh, I see you two everyday."

Heather lightly nudged his shoulder with her fist. Zach laughed as he leaned back with the movement. Then he clapped his hands together and smacked his lips, making a popping noise. "Alright, you ladies ready to get started?"

"Oh yeah! I'm ready to get my Joan Jett on," Gwyneth enthusiastically responded.

Zach laughed and slung his backpack around off his shoulder. "Alright, you girls stretch a bit while I look over my notes for a minute." Zach walked over to a chair against the wall, setting his backpack down and pulling out a notebook.

Heather and Naya took their hoodies off and set them next to their bags against the mirrored wall of the rehearsal space. The three girls stood in a circle together as they did some light stretching before they had to start dancing. Naya tried to distract herself from looking over at Heather by engaging Gwyneth in some light conversation about her macrobiotic dieting craze.

Heather remained quiet as she stretched out her legs. She hoped the stretching might make her feel a little more balanced. She had been fine on the walk over to the Tin Shed, maybe a little jumpy in anticipation of seeing Naya, but fine. However, the second she walked in and saw the brunette, she suddenly felt skittish like she was constantly about to trip over herself. And now it had gotten to a point where it felt like a thousand butterflies were landing all over the skin of her arms and legs. Since the moment she'd gotten within ten feet of Naya she became tense and uneasy and felt like she didn't know what to say, or do with her hands or how to stand. It was completely uncharacteristic because Naya was the one person Heather usually felt completely relaxed around. It was awkward for Heather to feel this way around Naya, and she knew it was only because she was still internally freaking out over their recent make out session and didn't know what to do with her feelings about it, whatever they were, she still wasn't sure. She hoped this awkward feeling would just go away but the more she tried to shove it away, the more it became front and center in her mind.

Heather stood with her legs together. She bent down slowly, running her hands along the backs of her legs until she could touch the very bottom of her heels. She had her eyes to the floor and brought her head up slightly to see Naya just a few feet in front of her and to the left doing the exact same stretch. Naya's body was facing Heather but she had a clear view of Naya's perfectly round and toned butt in the reflection of the full-length mirror on the wall behind Naya. Heather's eyes were locked on the image in the mirror for a moment until she caught onto the fact that she was leering at Naya's ass and totally enjoying it. She immediately shot her body straight up and turned to face the other direction, placing one hand at the lower right side of her back and the other up by her throat.

_Holy shit Heather. What are you doing?_

She gulped and then tugged at the top of her shirt before taking a deep breath and stretching her neck out to the side.

Zach walked up to join the girls. He pushed three chairs in front of them and there was a pile of jackets resting in the seat of the middle chair. "Alright, you ladies ready to get sexy?"

Heather turned around to give Zach her attention.

"Well with these two it's kinda hard not to get sexy," Gwyneth joked as she gestured toward Naya and Heather.

Both girls blushed at the comment, Heather more than Naya. Naya quickly and bashfully tucked her lips into her mouth and then smiled after averting her eyes to the ground. Heather nervously laughed with a feeling of slight embarrassment, like she'd been caught doing something she wasn't supposed to be doing.

Zach lightly laughed at the comment as well before giving his usual pre-rehearsal preface. "Okay, so we're just gonna work on a short little thing with the three of you for the top of the number and then get you over to wardrobe. We only have like half an hour but it's easy. You three'll get it in no time. I'm going to be directing the rest of the choreography with the three of you and the rest of the kids when we're set up with everyone in the choir room. The choreography is loose so just be sexy and fun with it."

"No problemo, right girls?" Gwyneth looked to both Naya and Heather with a playful smile.

"Sure thing," Naya smiled and nodded. She made a mental note in her head, promising herself to throw all of the intense feelings she was having into the choreography so she could at least get rid of some of the tense energy in her body.

"Alright, grab a jacket and a chair." Zach instructed.

Gwyneth was the first to pick up a jacket and grab a chair. Naya and Heather both reached for the same jacket at the same time and their hands grazed against each other. Naya withdrew her hand while Heather flinched backward at the unexpected electrifying shock she felt from just touching Naya's hand.

"Go ahead." "You go." Both of them said simultaneously. They both reached their hands out again to grab a jacket and then withdrew them when they saw that they were both reaching at the same time again. They both nervously laughed at the uncharacteristic awkwardness they were sharing.

Naya stepped back and nodded her head down at the two remaining jackets on the chair. "Go ahead."

"O-Okay." Heather hesitantly took one of the jackets and walked over to one of the other chairs as she slipped the jacket through her arms and over her shoulders. In her head she was determined to focus on the dancing and let it take away all this awkward new sexual tension she was feeling.

* * *

Everyone was in the choir room set waiting around while the camera team set up for the first shot of the "Do You Wanna Touch?" number. Zach was discussing the choreography with Ryan using most of the space in the room to map out the details of how the number would be shot.

Naya was leaning up against the wall at one corner of the room with Harry, Jenna, and Amber in front of her. It seemed that the four of them were in a playful conversation. Harry had taken Amber's hat and started doing funny dance moves and tricks with it. Naya was laughing along with them but she didn't quite feel like she was all there. She had done fine focusing all the sexual energy and attention that was required of her during dance rehearsal that morning and she was focused when the camera was rolling as they shot all their dialogue in the choir room. But in between takes she wasn't being very talkative and resorted to being a wallflower in other people's conversations, mostly to distract herself and give herself something to do other than drown in her own thoughts.

For Naya, ever since the end of dance rehearsal that morning everything just felt off. Heather had started messing up the choreography towards the end of rehearsal, falling out of her chair a few times or tripping over herself like she'd lost her balance. Every time Naya rushed over to see if she was okay, Heather just flinched back and got all fidgety. Naya had never seen the blonde so skittish like that and she'd certainly never seen Heather act so awkward toward her. It was unsettling and Naya was thrown off by it. She wondered if it was her fault, if she'd done something wrong, maybe something she wasn't even aware of to make Heather act that way. Naya was so lost in thought she didn't even realize that she'd stopped paying attention to the conversation in front of her and was gazing across the room in Heather's general direction.

Heather sat in the rolly chair behind what stood as Mr. Schuester's desk. She was twisting the chair from side to side with her hips and twiddling her thumbs while her eyes were angled down and filled with worry. She felt horrible for messing up the choreography in rehearsal earlier. She was a professional dancer and she'd tripped over some of the easiest choreography in her life.

She started off the rehearsal with ease but as it progressed Heather couldn't help but constantly glance in Naya's direction at their reflection in the mirrors. She had become increasingly distracted by how sexy the brunette was whenever she dipped her body low and back up again or shimmied in her chair or whipped her hair around. The worst was towards the end of their choreography with the chairs when they had to lift a leg up and around the top of their respective chairs, strip their jackets open and thrust their pelvis' up. Every time she saw Naya do that sequence of choreography the area between Heather's legs would knot and twist and heat up. Heather thought her body might explode or spontaneously combust and she was pretty sure she was in desperate need a cold shower after they left the Tin Shed.

She had no clue what was going on or why her body was responding to Naya the way it was. It's not like she'd never seen Naya dance like that before. Hell, she'd even given Naya her own private dance lessons whenever the brunette was having trouble with some of the choreography and sure, Heather always thought Naya was sexy but it never made Heather get all hot and bothered to the extent that she was that morning. This was something completely new and different and Heather wasn't expecting it. It completely freaked her out. She felt like she had no control over her body whatsoever, like she had two left feet and no balance, which at the moment had her terrified because they were about to shoot a number that required Heather to dance her ass off and be completely sexy while doing it. She took comfort in the idea that maybe she'd be fine because this time she wouldn't be staring at Naya dancing in a mirror. But she was still doubtful after her horrible performance in rehearsal. Her nerves were creeping up on her, the kind of doubtful nerves that were poison for a performer. She desperately needed to quell them.

When Naya realized she had been staring in Heather's direction for at least a good five minutes or so, she realized that Heather looked completely anxious and nervous and lost in thought. Naya felt bad because they'd barely said a few words to each other all day. Normally they were giddy and giggly and fun together from early morning call time and throughout every second of the day, but so far they'd been distant and shared nothing but awkward glances and sidestepping each other. Naya felt it was partly her own fault for trying to keep the intensity of her new, self aware feelings for Heather in check.

But now Heather had that look on her face that she got whenever she was doubtful or nervous before a scene. Naya knew that look perfectly well because Naya was usually the one to quell Heather's nerves whenever that happened. She knew Heather needed reassurance right now and she needed it from Naya, no one else. Naya's own feelings be damned, she walked across the room and pulled up a chair next to Heather.

Heather glanced up at Naya as she pulled up a chair and sat next to her. Heather shifted in her seat, unsure of herself with Naya in such close proximity and no one to distract her or shift her attention towards.

"Hey," Naya spoke softly and gently. "You okay?"

Heather made eye contact with Naya for a split second before diverting her eyes away and to the floor. "Yeah, I guess." Heather's voice was unsteady again. She cleared her throat and fidgeted with her fingers. "Just nervous."

Naya gently placed her hand on Heather's back and began rubbing small, soft circles at the center of it.

Heather thought Naya's touch would make her skin jump again but it had the complete opposite effect. It was actually calming her down and made her feel comfortably warm inside. She relaxed as Naya continued rubbing her back.

"Is this about rehearsal this morning?" Naya was looking intently at Heather who was still avoiding eye contact.

Heather apprehensively nodded her head up and down.

Naya placed her other hand on Heather's knee and soothingly rubbed her thumb across her kneecap. That one simple touch made Heather feel even more relaxed. How did Naya have the ability to do that so effectively?

Heather still had her head hung down and staring at her fidgeting hands. Naya brought her hand out from behind Heather's back and placed her thumb and index finger under Heather's chin to gently bring her head up and make eye contact with Naya. "Hey, don't worry about it. You're the best dancer here. It's easy peasy. You're gonna be great." Naya placed her hand next to her other hand on Heather's knee.

"You think so?" Heather questioned.

Naya made a soft smile on her face. "I know so."

All of Heather's momentary self doubt about her skills as a dancer completely washed away and for the first time all day, she actually felt comfortable in her own skin. She softly smiled back at Naya.

Naya held out her pinky. Heather entwined it with her own pinky and they both twisted their hands so that the knuckles of their fists pressed together before they pressed the pads of their thumbs together. It was a ritual they had developed back in the first season when Brad Falchuk had instructed them to hold pinkies during a scene. They eventually made a variation of the gesture for whenever either of them was nervous about doing a scene or a PR event and needed some encouragement or a boost of confidence. They'd never discussed why they did it but it was a silent confirmation of a promise between the two of them, to always be there for each other, to hold each other up and remind each other of their strength when they needed it.

* * *

"_**Cut!"**_ Ryan Murphy called out from behind the monitor at the back of the auditorium. He gave a light, almost inaudible chuckle and stood up from his chair with the bullhorn. "Alright, good job everyone. Let's get Matt and Gwyneth to wardrobe. The rest of you are back here tomorrow."

Heather stood up from her auditorium seat and briskly walked out of the auditorium set. She had to go pee really bad and had been holding it in for the past twenty minutes, not wanting to interrupt shooting. She made her way through the various sets of the soundstage, past the crew, crates of equipment and countless light stands and random apples boxes to the back corner of the soundstage where the bathrooms were. When she was done she briefly deliberated catching up with some of the other cast members to see what everyone's plans were for the rest of the day. Most everyone had a half day of shooting since Matt and Gwyneth were going to be shooting a lot of their scenes that afternoon and evening so some of the other cast members might be making plans to hang out. But if Heather was being honest with herself she really just wanted to go home and veg out. She decided to walk back to her trailer and made her way out of the soundstage. She started walking down the in-roads of the Paramount lot.

The cool afternoon breeze felt good and the sun wasn't annoyingly bright or hot. It felt good to be walking out in the open air. Heather could slowly feel herself normalizing a bit, or maybe she was just getting used to her nerves being so jumpy. She was sure it couldn't possibly get any worse then the wreck she had been in dance rehearsal the previous morning. Other than the gentle and reassuring moment Naya offered just before shooting their dance number, Heather's nervousness and awkwardness still hadn't gone away. It may have been slightly more muted now but it was still prevalently there and it made Heather uneasy to feel so uncomfortable in her own skin and especially around her best friend.

Heather was just about to step up the metal stairs of her trailer when she heard someone call out her name from down the row of trailers for the Glee cast.

"HeMo! Hold up a sec!" Dianna called out to her.

Heather stopped and waved at Dianna as she approached. "Hey Di, what's up?" Heather greeted her as she walked up to her trailer.

Dianna was still in her wardrobe for the 'Afternoon Delight' number they'd just shot in the auditorium and she looked completely out of place, not to mention ridiculously unstylish. Heather was snickering at the site of the outfit until she couldn't hold in her laughter anymore and burst out into a full chuckle.

"Oh shut up. It's just wardrobe," Dianna smiled at Heather's laughter.

Heather and Dianna walked up the metal steps and into Heather's trailer as Dianna continued with her original intent in stopping Heather to talk. "So do you have anything planned for the rest of the day? I thought we could hang out."

Heather was rummaging through her backpack on her couch. "Um, no I don't but to be honest I really just need some time alone. I'll probably just go home."

"Oh come on, just grab a late lunch or something with me."

Dianna was leaning against the doorframe of the trailer and biting down on her lip trying to buy some time so she could figure out how to segue into the conversation she wanted to have with Heather. If Heather didn't want to hang out then Dianna might have to be a little more blunt about her concern for Heather's perplexing behavior for the past few days.

Heather tossed her backpack against the couch. She was trying to remember where she'd misplaced her car keys. "Di, really, I just want to relax alone for a bit. I've just… I've had a weird couple of days."

Dianna used this opportunity to nudge the conversation in the direction she wanted it to go. "Yeah, I've noticed."

Heather looked at Dianna, giving her her full attention. "Am I that obvious?"

"Well let's just say you haven't been your normal happy-go-lucky self for the past two days."

Heather's face completely dropped with worry. "Yeah, no shit. I've been a complete mess." Heather sat down on the couch in a huff and placed her head in her hands.

"Sweetie, what's wrong?" Heather didn't respond so Dianna pressed the question again. "Look, we all have off days but whatever it is that's bothering you really has you rattled. It might be good to just talk about it, I mean, if you want." Dianna was unsure of how to approach this. Heather was normally so bright and cheery but in the past two days she'd been nothing but apprehensive and shaky. Dianna was genuinely concerned for her.

Heather brought her head up out of her hands to look at Dianna. "It's kinda of…personal. I just… crap, I wouldn't even know how to start talking about it."

Dianna closed the door of the trailer and looked back at Heather with empathetic eyes. She spoke gently. "Well, just talk. It doesn't have to make sense. Just say whatever you're feeling. It's better than keeping it bottled up."

Heather stood up and started pacing back and forth across the room as her thoughts disjointedly tumbled out of her mouth. "Just… ugh! I just want things to go back to normal! I hate feeling so confused. Like I think I'm fine one second and then something happens, something small, that just makes me feel like I'm jumping out of my skin and I don't know what the hell's wrong with me."

Heather's pace picked up and her words came out almost involuntarily as she expressed her pent up frustration. "I mean I know we were drunk but every time I see her I get this image that streaks through my head and I don't know how to feel about it or what I'm even feeling. Like I can't even define it. And maybe it shouldn't even be that big a deal but I mean she's my friend. My best friend. And I hate that I'm all awkward around her now."

Dianna's eyes popped wide open. "Oh my God, you _do_ remember?"

Heather abruptly stopped pacing. "Wait, what?"

"Kevin's party."

"You know?"

"Well, I mean I just saw you two rush into the downstairs bathroom and when you came out you both looked a little disheveled so—"

"Oh crap!" Heather sat back down on the couch and placed her head in her hands again. "Di, I've been like massively freaking out about this for the past three days."

Dianna sat down next to Heather and placed a hand on her knee. "Heather, there's no reason to freak out. It's fine."

Heather sunk her face further into her hands and made a small whiney noise, her hands muffling her voice.

Dianna took a moment to try and think of the right words to say. "Look, you and Naya have one the strongest friendships I've ever seen. You two can make it through anything. I think the best thing to do is to just talk to her. You can talk to her about anything and I'm sure you two can figure it out and you won't feel so awkward about it anymore. Just be honest with her."

Heather took a deep breath and mulled it over in her head for a moment. When she brought her head up out of her hands she looked at Dianna with distressed but grateful eyes. "You're right. I'm being ridiculous. I should just talk to her."

"Everything will be fine. I promise," Dianna reassured her.

Heather leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Dianna, giving her an appreciative and indebted hug. "Thanks Di."

Dianna hugged her back hoping that Heather's pending conversation with Naya would leave Heather feeling better about the situation and God forbid it leave Naya feeling crushed or rejected that Heather only wanted to continue their normal friendship instead of pursuing something more.

* * *

Naya was walking back to her trailer from the wardrobe truck. She was glad that she was only scheduled for a half day and was looking forward to going home and relaxing for a bit. Maybe she'd do some yoga or cook herself a nice dinner tonight.

She was completely filled with anxiety at the fact that Heather was acting so distant around her. They'd never been more awkward around each other than they had been in the past two days, especially when they had shot a scene with just the two of them that morning. When they first ran through lines, Naya swore she saw Heather's arms jump with goosebumps when she said her line,_ 'I really like when we make out and stuff.'_ Naya started thinking that someone had said something to Heather about their drunken make out session. Maybe Kevin made an off hand comment or joked about it to her, or maybe she in fact did remember, just with a delayed memory of it. Naya thought that might be the reason why Heather was so off lately. It felt incredibly unsettling for Heather to be so uncomfortable around her. Ever since they wrapped their scene that morning Naya had been trying to think of ways she could remedy the situation. She just hadn't thought of the right way to do it yet.

As she approached her trailer she saw Chord leaning up against the side of it with his hands in his jacket pockets and his face up towards the sun. His sunglasses glinted in the light. When Naya got closer, he faced her with a smile.

"Ace!"

"Hey," she greeted him with a friendly smile.

"Get your stuff. We're going on a field trip. I gotta pick up a part for the Triumph."

Chord was really into classic cars and had recently bought his first fixer upper antique to work on in his spare time, a navy blue 1966 Triumph Spitfire Mark II. Naya had expressed a mild interest in learning about cars and Chord invited her along, giving her a few lessons in car maintenance and repair whenever he was working on it.

Naya sighed. "Chord I'm really not in the mood for auto shop class today," she protested.

Chord was still friendly in his defense and remained inviting, trying not to push any buttons with her. He knew that she got a bit stubborn from time to time when she was tired or pre-occupied with something. "No grease monkey stuff today. We're just picking up a part and then I'm treating you to a late lunch and maybe a drink or two."

She cocked her hip to the side and jutted her lips out, mulling over his offer in her head.

He opened her trailer door and extended his arm towards it in a welcoming gesture as he flashed one of his signature charming smiles. "Come on, I owe you food and drinks anyway."

He had a valid point. They had a never-ending pool competition going between the two of them. Currently Naya was three games up on Chord and the deal was that if one of them ever got to three games up on the other, the losing participant owed the victor a meal and drinks.

She gave it another moment before making her decision. "Okay." She started walking up the metal steps of her trailer.

"Good," he responded cheerfully.

"Where are we going for food?"

"Um, I was thinking 'Big Mike's'," Chord said as he waited patiently on the steps of her trailer while she gathered her things.

"Yes! I'm starving." Naya cheerfully approved.

Chord laughed knowing that Naya's mood could always be lifted at the mention of food.

They left Naya's car in the parking lot and got into Chord's dark green Jeep Rubicon and headed over to the auto body shop to pick up Chord's car part he had ordered. They spent most of the car ride in comfortable silence except for a few scattered comments. Naya knew why Chord had asked her to hang out with him for the afternoon. He always did this whenever he noticed that Naya was being anxious and reserved for a prolonged period of time like she had been for the past few days. He would find a reason for them to hang out and drop hints that he knew something was bothering her but he would never press to ask what was wrong, letting Naya be the one to bring up whatever it was in her own time. It was his way of saying that he was there for her if she needed a friend or someone to talk to or someone to just be with her so she didn't feel alone.

They had the type of friendship where they were comfortable talking about almost anything but they were also comfortable with just hanging out and not talking at all. There was no pressure from either one of them to be sociable or outgoing or a certain way around each other. They could just be. Naya was appreciative of that aspect of their friendship at a time like this when she wasn't really in the mood to talk about anything going on inside her. Although she knew Chord wanted her to open up and talk it out, he wasn't going to pressure her into it. He was just there if she needed it.

When they stopped at the auto shop Chord paid for his part and spent a few minutes catching up with Carl, the guy who ran the shop. Carl was always friendly enough with Naya whenever she tagged along with Chord, but Naya always thought it was funny how surprised he was whenever she made any insightful comments on cars in their conversations. She had a limited knowledge of the subject but she was very confident in what she did know. As an added bonus, she liked surprising people by turning certain stereotypes upside down, like the fact that at first glance she might seem like a bit of a material girl but she wasn't afraid to get her hands dirty and be a grease monkey.

While Chord finished up his conversation with Carl, Naya walked out the front of the shop and past Chord's Jeep over to the side lot where most of the antique cars were parked. It was a boutique shop that specialized in antiques so they had a lot of classic and limited edition cars in the lot. Naya always liked just gazing out at them imagining what it would be like to have one of her own one day and be able to drive it wherever and whenever she wanted. She liked the nostalgia of those classic cars.

Her dad had owned one when she was younger, a light blue '67 mustang convertible. He used to take her for little road trips through winding canopy roads. She always loved that feeling of having the wind blowing through her hair. They'd visit drive-ins or country diners or a hidden lake in the woods where they'd go exploring or have a father/daughter picnic. It was like they were in their own little world, just the two of them. When she was little he'd always accompany their road trips with an imaginative fairy tale story he'd tell when they got to their destination. Then one day he asked her to tell him a story. From then on whenever they were exploring through the woods or having a lakeside picnic her dad would happily listen as Naya let her imagination run wild with her made up stories. She always loved telling him those stories.

Naya thought of how perfect it would be to do something like that again. She would love to do something like that with Heather and show her all of the hidden little places Naya knew about. Heather would really love that.

"Oi! Ace!" Chord called out from the front entrance of the shop.

Naya broke her gaze at the antique cars and turned around to where his voice was coming from.

"You ready for some grub?" He continued as he walked towards his Jeep.

Naya started walking over to Chord. "Yeah. I could seriously eat a whole cow right now," she joked.

They both chuckled as they approached the Jeep, got in the car and left.

**xxxxx**

Chord and Naya sat at a four-person booth in the back corner of Big Mike's Tavern and Grill. Naya had picked the table but only because she knew it was Chord's favorite table in the restaurant. It had the best possible view of the most TV's in the establishment, all of them with some type of sports game on. It was an unassuming kind of place with a very relaxed atmosphere and at the moment there was only a modest amount of people in the place. With their schedules Naya and Chord only ever made it out to Big Mike's occasionally but they liked going for the ridiculously good barbeque, beer selection and Chord's love of all things sports related. Naya wasn't exactly a huge sports fan but she enjoyed the atmosphere of it. However, when college football season hits in the fall, Naya religiously watched the Tennessee Vols play every Saturday and Chord would usually join her. Naya watched for her younger brother Mychal, who played as a tightend for Tennessee and Chord was just an obsessive Vols fan.

Naya was just coming back from the bathroom. When she got to the table she saw two Heineken's sitting there, one in front of Chord and the other in front of her own seat.

"What makes you think I want a beer, much less a Heineken?" Naya joked as she gestured toward the drinks and sat down in the booth.

Chord sarcastically joked back. "Oh I'm sorry. Did you want something a little stronger? Maybe a shot of bourbon?"

"All we need is some scotch to round it out," Naya smiled.

They laughed at their own joking and sipped their drinks. Chord was happy to see Naya smile for the first time that day.

"You just looked like you could use a drink. It seems like you're having a rough week," he commented.

Naya knew this was his roundabout way of bringing up the fact that he could tell something was bothering her. But at the moment all she wanted was some form of distraction to take her mind off of it. "Chord, I don't wanna talk about it," she said a little more forcefully than she had intended.

Chord threw his hands up in a defensive manner. "Okay, okay. You don't have to talk about it."

They both took another sip from their drinks. Chord was contemplating what to do. If she didn't want to talk about whatever it was that was bothering her then he at least wanted to make sure he could distract her from it for a bit. He got an idea and pulled out his phone to look up a funny youtube video he'd seen the other day. He was sure it would cheer her up and at least get her to laugh.

"Hey so check this out," he put the phone down on the table in front of her so she could watch.

The funny youtube video got Naya to laugh again and eased her anxiety. The rest of the afternoon was spent in their usual joking around, complete with a contest of funny impressions that they put on for the server. The server decided that they were both equally good impressionists but Naya swore her impression of Jay Leno was much better than Chord's. Chord one-upped her with his undeniably good impression of George Bush. But Naya sealed her title as the best impressionist of the night with her almost perfect Kim Kardashian impression. There was no way Chord could beat that.

When they were done at Big Mike's it was already dusk and Chord still had to drive Naya back to the Paramount lot to pick up her car. It was looking to be an incredibly nice evening and Chord rolled the windows of his Jeep down as they listened to a classic rock radio station. Naya was grateful to feel the cool wind on her face as she solemnly stared out the window at the warm light of the sunset. She needed an afternoon like this, something that was laid back and no pressure. She somehow felt a little lighter and figured that it was probably a good idea that Chord wanted her to hang out this afternoon because she probably would've gone insane if she were left alone with her thoughts. But despite the relaxing afternoon with her friend, it still didn't make all the pressure she was feeling go away and it slowly crept its way back into her body.

Chord pulled his Jeep into the spot next to Naya's car. He turned down the volume of the radio until is was barely audible and shifted the car into Park.

Naya held her still gaze out the window as he parked the car. "I'm in love with Heather," Naya softly but confidently blurted out. She wasn't sure if she'd made the decision to tell him or if she impulsively did it. It was probably a mixture of both.

Every part of Chord's body abruptly stopped, his right hand still on the gearshift and his mouth hung open slightly. It took him a moment to let what she'd said sink in. "Uh…w-Wow."

"Yeah." Naya hung her head down for a second, looking at her hands in her lap. Then she brought her hand up to cradle her forehead, her thumb and middle finger rubbing at her temples. "And she's been totally awkward with me since Kevin's party and it's killing me." Naya dropped her hand back into her lap and leaned back against the seat. "And now I have to do that intense 'I love you' scene they gave us. I have to do that scene with her and…" Her face started to scrunch up. "…and I'm just…I'm a mess." She rubbed at her face and her eyes with her hand for a moment before dropping her hand back into her lap with a light smack. "So there ya go, in a nutshell."

Chord sunk back into his seat. "Shit," he said with a mix of surprise and concern.

"Yeah." She took a deep breath and then sighed before opening the passenger door and moving to get out of the car.

Chord leaned forward and put his arm behind the headrest of the passenger seat. "Wait, I mean, are you—"

"I'm fine Chord. I'll be fine." She stood by the side of the car with the door open and her right hand resting on the bottom of the window frame, looking in at Chord and putting on a brave face. "I dunno," she shrugged. "It actually feels kinda good to tell someone, ya know like, say it out loud. Just…just don't say anything to anyone about it okay?"

"Of course." Chord emphatically assured her. "I won't say anything... You know if you need anything or someone to-"

"I know," she saved him the obligatory best friend spiel and pulled the corner of her mouth up in a faint smile. "Thanks for lunch…or dinner, or whatever it was we just had."

He chuckled. "Anytime," and softly smiled back at her. "I gotta make sure you don't kick my ass in pool again though. I'm embarrassing myself."

"You can't handle my pool skills." She jokingly sassed back and then chuckled. "See ya tomorrow," she shut the door and waved goodbye as she walked behind the Jeep and over to her car.

"Get some rest," Chord called out through his window as he backed out of his parking spot.

Naya smiled back at him as he drove off and she got in her car. She was glad she hung out with Chord this afternoon and had ended up talking, however briefly, about some of her feelings. It felt good to get a bit of it out instead of feeling like all those emotions were caged and trapped inside her body with no way out. Telling someone felt like a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. However, saying it out loud only made all of it more real.

* * *

It was early morning and Naya was in her trailer slowly pacing back and forth in front of her couch with her script in her hand. She was going over her lines and looking at the scenes she was scheduled to shoot that day. She had another scene to shoot with Heather and Gwyneth where Santana and Brittany talk to Ms. Holiday, touching on the nature of their relationship.

Naya was hoping that things with Heather would go a little smoother today than they had in the previous few days. Each day things seemed to get a little better but Naya still didn't know how to approach her for a serious talk and Heather was still being distant. They actually hadn't shared one moment alone together since their short conversation just before shooting their dance number on the first day. But Naya knew they inevitably needed to smooth out their awkwardness with each other. As much as Naya thought her feelings for Heather were completely screwed over, not having her normal interaction with Heather was also completely killing her. She needed to fix this recent kink in their friendship but she didn't know how to go about it or what to say. She wasn't sure if she should approach Heather as soon as possible and just wing it, letting the words come to her in the moment or wait until after they wrapped the episode so Naya wouldn't be such a wreck with the impending 'I love you' scene also weighing on her mind.

Knock-knock-knock

Naya stopped pacing and lifted her head up to see Heather standing in the doorway of her open trailer.

For a prolonged moment, they both stood there in silence just looking at each other across the small space of the trailer. Naya's mouth was slightly agape, surprised and confused about what to do. Heather had her hands shoved in her pockets and her eyes kept darting from Naya's face to the floor, up and back down again.

Naya was taking in the fact that Heather had sought her out to have the inevitable private conversation that they needed to have. She silently cursed herself for not having the guts to do it sooner but was glad that Heather wanted to at least talk. "Hey," Naya said softly.

Heather was still darting her eyes up and down and she was rocking her body weight back and forth from the balls of her feet to her heels and back again. "Um, can we…" she stopped rocking her feet and earnestly looked straight at Naya. "Can we talk?"

"Yeah, of course."

Heather quietly shut the door of the trailer behind her and apprehensively walked toward Naya, stopping halfway between the door and the brunette. With her hands still in her pockets, Heather's shoulders and arms tensed up. It looked like she was holding her breath. Then as she finally relaxed her stance she let go of all of her breath and blurted out, "We made out." The statement came out with a burst, as if someone were popping a balloon.

Naya was taken a bit off guard with how direct Heather was with her statement but not surprised that she said it.

_She does remember. I knew it!_

"Yeah." Naya tried to stifle a little bit of laughter at the blunt force with which Heather made her statement. For some reason it was quite funny in comparison to the quiet and soft nature with which they addressed each other just two seconds ago.

Heather had a look on her face like she had a million questions and no way to answer them.

Naya bit at her bottom lip and rocked back on her heel. She tossed her script to the far side of the couch then turned back to Heather. She nodded her head slightly and extended her hand out. "Come here."

Heather was still being apprehensive.

"Come on, come sit with me." Naya gestured her head toward the couch and wiggled her fingers in her outstretched hand.

Heather extended her hand. They sat next to each other on the couch with Naya gently holding Heather's hand on top of Heather's knee.

Heather looked forward towards the floor and struggled a bit to get her words out. "I – I hate that things are so awkward with us now."

Naya nodded her head. "Me too."

Heather looked up to Naya, happy with the reassurance that she wasn't the only one feeling this way. Heather hesitantly continued speaking, her words choppy and clipped. "I mean we're best friends. I don't think best friends are supposed to do that, right? I dunno, I just…I want things to be normal again."

Naya shifted in her seat. Heather was looking at her like a lost puppy. Naya took a moment to find the right words to say. She lightly squeezed Heather's hand before she began to speak."Okay, here's the deal." She placed her other hand on top of Heather's so she held Heather's hand between her own two hands. "Things don't have to be awkward unless we make it awkward."

Heather nodded her head in agreement but still looked apprehensive.

Naya spoke her next words with warmth and reassurance. "No matter what happens between us, I'll always be your friend, first and foremost. That's never going to change." Naya softly smiled and let out a light laugh. "You're stuck with me."

Heather smiled back at her as she was overcome with a sudden sense of relief. She felt like she could fully relax for the first time in days. How did Naya do that? She always knew the right thing to say or do whenever Heather was nervous about something. She always seemed to have the answers that gave Heather confidence when she was unsure of herself. "So…we're okay?"

"I am if you are." Naya held out her pinky.

Heather took Naya's pinky with her own and they pressed their thumbs together in their makeshift handshake. They both giggled as a sense of relief washed over them with the ease they both had been craving for the past few days.

* * *

Naya left her trailer to take a short walk around the Paramount Lot. She was done with Hair, Makeup and Wardrobe and had just gone over some last minute prep work for the big 'love confession' scene she was about to shoot. But she could feel her nerves beginning to buck up in anticipation of shooting the scene and felt like she needed to get out of her trailer and clear her head a bit before going to the soundstage.

It had been about a day and half since Heather and her had their talk in her trailer. The ease with which they fell back into their normal and comfortable rhythm was a little surprising but highly reassuring. Things weren't fully back to normal yet but things weren't nearly as awkward as they were. Naya was glad that their friendship was getting back on track. It was one less thing to worry about. Now all she had to do was make it through this scene.

**xxxxx**

Heather was sitting in her actor's chair blankly staring down at her script, which was laying on her lap and flipped open to the page with the scene they were about to shoot. She drummed her index finger up and down on the wooden armrest of the chair. She thought about glibbing her lines again but she already knew her lines. She knew the scene backward and forward. That wasn't the problem.

She was anxious about doing this scene. Heather always got a little nervous when she had to do scenes or numbers where the spotlight was a little more focused on her or her and one other person, rather than the big group scenes with practically the whole cast present. But it was a different type of nervous this time. She knew this was a big scene. It was the first attempt at taking the Brittana storyline seriously, the storyline Naya had been pushing for since the middle of season one. Heather didn't have a whole lot of acting experience before booking Glee but she'd learned a lot from Naya and a few of the other, more experienced cast members in the past year or so. And part of being an actor is being there for your fellow actors. Being fully present and connected in the character and the scene so you can give your scene partner a complete spectrum of things to work off of. It's a back and forth dance, a give and take of emotions. That connectedness to the character and your scene partner was the bread and butter of making a scene and a storyline come to life.

If anything, Heather wanted to be there for Naya, to give her everything she needed in this scene. Not just because of their responsibility to their characters, their fans and their storyline, but because it was a chance for Naya to really flex her acting muscles and show the world the amazingly talented and versatile actress that Heather knew her to be. She wanted to be there for Naya because she deserved it. She deserved every opportunity to shine.

Heather continued drumming her finger on the wooden armrest and her right leg started nervously bouncing up and down. Where was Naya? She wasn't in her trailer when Heather had knocked earlier and Heather figured Naya was probably even more nervous about doing such a massively emotional scene. Heather was torn. She wanted to find Naya because on the occasion that either one of them was nervous before a scene one of them could usually give the other comforting reassurance just by being in each other's presence. But sometimes Naya just needed a few minutes to herself before a scene so she could gather and focus her energy. Heather wasn't sure which one Naya needed right now, a friend or a few minutes alone.

Heather's eyes started darting around all over the school hallway set. After a moment she saw Naya walk in and popped up out of her actor's chair, her script falling on the floor. She frantically picked up her fallen script and messily laid it in the seat of her actor's chair before rushing over to Naya.

"Hey," Heather said running up to Naya and trying not to trip over any cables or knock any light stands over.

"Hey," Naya waved.

Heather and Naya were walking side-by-side through the set and over to their actor's chairs. "Where were you? I checked your trailer but you weren't there. I figured you'd wanna run lines before we shoot."

"No, I'm good on my lines. I just went for a walk. Ya know, some fresh air."

Heather's nodded in understanding. If Naya went for a walk then that meant she was in the 'I need a few minutes alone' state of mind.

As they got back to their chairs and sat down, Ryan walked up to talk to them. "You girls ready?"

"Yeah," Naya said and Heather nodded her head.

"Good. It'll probably just be a few more minutes. We're going to do your coverage first, Naya" he pointed to Naya, "and then we'll do yours," he pointed to Heather.

"Cool." "Sounds good." The girls responded simultaneously.

"Heather can I talk to you for a second?" Ryan asked.

"Sure." Heather got up from her chair and walked off to the side with Ryan. Whenever Ryan was directing he always liked to talk with each actor individually before the more emotionally intensive scenes.

Naya sat back in her chair and started absentmindedly fiddling with the dangling black strands of her jacket. The closer it got to shooting the scene the more she could feel her nerves building. There was always at least a small amount of nervousness before scenes but this wasn't just performance anxiety. Naya was a bit of a perfectionist so she wanted to do the character, the scene, and the storyline justice. That, along with her feelings surrounding Heather piled on top, Naya just hoped she could stay focused enough to get the job done and do it with a certain amount of excellence. She just couldn't let her nerves get the best of her. She felt a hand squeeze her shoulder and turned her head around to see who was behind her.

"Chord, what are you doing here? I thought you were done for the day."

He smiled and walked around the side of the chair. "Just thought I'd stick around for some support, ya know I mean, if ya need it."

She smiled back. He didn't have to stay on set. He could've gone home or done something else but given Naya's recent confession to him she was incredibly grateful for his silent gesture of support.

Ryan walked back over with Heather and she sat down in her actor's chair, pleasantly surprised that Chord decided to stay on set and watch them shoot their scene.

"Actually Heather, why don't you head over to your mark and it looks like makeup might do a few more touch ups on you." Ryan instructed. "Naya, I'm just gonna talk to you for a minute and we'll get started."

Heather got up from her chair and started walking over to where the camera team was set up by the lockers. As Naya got up from her chair Chord gave her an encouraging nod. Naya's nerves were building again and they just kept getting bigger and bigger.

**xxxxx**

"'_**Background Action!' 'Sound Speed!' 'Rolling!' 'Take 1!'" **_Smack! _**"Action."**_

Naya stood on her mark next to the lockers and in front of Heather. The camera was just to the right of Heather's shoulder and staring straight into Naya's face but Naya kept her focus on Heather. She took a beat, letting the emotions and lines begin organically and trusting that her prep work was there as a safety net to hold her end of the scene up.

'_Hi.'_

'_Hey.'_

'_Can we talk?'_

'_But we never do that.'_

'_Yeah, I know but um, I wanted to thank you for performing that song with me in Glee Club...'_

Naya's voice was completely ungrounded and she could hear little cracks in it as she said her lines.

'…_because it's made me do a lot of thinking. And what I've realized is why I'm such a bitch all the time. I'm a bitch because I'm angry. I'm angry because I have all of these feelings…'_

Naya could feel her throat begin to close up.

'_feelings for…'_

Naya's voice got caught in her throat and she became almost breathless. She flubbed the line.

"_**Cut!"**_

"Sorry," Naya apologized to Ryan.

"It's okay. Let's go again."

Heather was concerned. It was uncharacteristic for Naya to flub lines and she seemed a bit on edge.

Naya took a few deep breaths to try and steady herself before they started the next Take. She shook and wiggled her hands trying to get the nerves to escape her body.

"'…_**Take 2!'"**_ Smack! _**"Action."**_

The scene started off well again. At least Naya could actually be convinced that it was her own voice saying the lines this time. But as the scene went on, her nerves started shooting through her body again and it felt like there was a knot the size of a baseball in her chest that just kept twisting and tightening.

"…_I'm angry because I have all of these feelings…feelings for you, that I'm afraid of dealing with because I'm afraid of dealing with the consequences. And Brittany, I can't go to an Indigo Girls concert, I just can't."_

"_I understand that."_

"_Do you understand what I'm trying to say here?"_

"_No, not really."_

That knot in Naya's chest kept twisting and tightening and her skin felt like it was starting to jump.

"_I wanna be with…"_

Naya's voice cracked again and she broke character.

"_**Cut!"**_

Naya fluttered her eyes and then slammed them shut in frustration.

"Let's take it from the top again." Ryan called out and then addressed Naya specifically. "Are you okay? Do you need a water or something?"

"No, I'm fine. Sorry. I'm fine." She fluttered her eyes and shook her hand again, trying to get rid of the nerves.

Heather took Naya's hand. "Hey," she said softly. Naya brought her head up and made eye contact with Heather. "Relax. You're gonna be great. Just relax and do your thing. You've got this."

Naya nodded and Heather faintly smiled before they started the next Take.

"'…_**Take 3!'"**_ Smack! _**"Action."**_

They started off the scene again and Naya was a little more relaxed at the top of it. But that knot in her chest was still there, twisting and tightening as the scene progressed.

"…_do you understand what I'm trying to say here?"_

"_No, not really."_

"_I want to be with you, but I'm afraid of the talks and the looks. I mean, you know what happened to Kurt at this school."_

Naya felt like all her nerves had bundled up in her throat again and like they were going to burst out of her skin.

"_But honey…if anybody were to ever make fun of you, you would either kick their ass or slash them with your vicious, vicious words."_

Naya's heart rate accelerated at a wildly fast pace and her ring finger of her left hand started to involuntarily twitch up into her palm. She felt herself beginning to unravel.

"_Yeah I know but I'm so afraid of what everyone will say behind my back. Still, I have to accept…that I lo—"_

She choked up on the nerves in her throat and broke character again, fluttering her eyes and rolling them up to the ceiling.

"_**Cut!"**_

Naya turned around and walked a few paces away from her mark. She slammed her eyes shut and brought her hand up to her forehead, rubbing at her temples with her thumb and middle finger.

Ryan walked out from behind the camera monitor and over to Naya. "Naya, is everything okay? Do you need a break?"

She crossed her arms and looked up at him, worrying her lip. "Um, yeah. Yeah, I just need a minute if that's okay."

"Yeah, we'll take five."

Naya nodded and started walking down the school hallway set. Heather, filled with worry, slowly started walking after her but Chord came up behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. At his touch Heather turned around.

"Just give her a minute alone. Trust me." Chord said in a hushed but confident tone.

Heather looked hesitant to take his advice and looked back down the hallway. Naya was just rounding the corner of one of the set walls and went out of sight. Heather turned back to Chord and he gave her a reassuring, silent nod. She decided he was right. Heather knew Naya was in a state of mind where she needed to be alone. Heather just desperately wanted to help and make her friend's anxiety go away, but she knew she wasn't going to be able to. At the moment, it was something Naya needed to do herself.

Naya rounded the corner of the school hallway set and made her way behind one of the set walls in a secluded corner of the soundstage. She paced back and forth with her hand covering her mouth. She felt tears forming and stinging the back of her eyes. She stopped pacing, closed her eyes and leaned her forehead against the set wall.

_Come on Rivera. Pull it together! You have a job to do and you have to do it regardless of how fucked over your feelings for Heather are and how screwed up this whole situation is. This isn't about you and Heather this is about Santana and Brittany. So take everything you're feeling and put it into Santana. Just calm the fuck down, relax and focus. Focus!_

After a few minutes of calming herself down, re-focusing and putting herself in the right frame of mind, Santana's frame of mind, she slowly walked out from behind the set wall and down the hallway. On her way to the camera she glanced over at Chord standing off to the side by her actor's chair. He gave an encouraging nod and a thumbs up. She nodded back, took a deep breath and proceeded to her mark in front of the camera. The crew, Ryan and Heather were all waiting for her.

"Okay, I'm ready," she spoke to Ryan.

Heather took Naya's hand and gently squeezed it, giving her a soft smile. Naya faintly smiled back and took another deep breath before they started their next take.

"…_**Take 4!"**_ Smack! _**"Action."**_

Naya kicked off the scene completely locked into character, hitting every guarded, hurt, earnest and pained note from Santana's perspective.

As they approached the halfway point of the scene, Naya felt the tears building up inside her. She sniffled. _"…Yeah, I know. But…I'm so afraid of what everyone will say behind my back." _A tear escaped her eye and slowly ran down her cheek. _"Still, I have to accept…that I love you. I love you, and I don't want to be with Sam or Finn or any of those other guys. I just want you. Please say you love me back. Please,"_ she pleaded.

"_Of course I love you. I do. And I would totally be with you if it weren't for Artie."_

"_Artie?"_

"_I love him, too…" _

Naya's chest started to twist and knot again.

"…_I don't want to hurt him, that's not right. I can't break up with him."_

A second tear began to fall from Naya's face as a desperate tone reached her voice. _"Yes, you can. He's just a stupid boy."_

"_But it wouldn't be right. Santana, you have to know…if Artie and I were to ever break up, and I'm lucky enough that you're still single…"_

Heather reached for Naya's hand but Naya pushed it away. _"Don't."_

"…_I am so yours. Proudly so."_

At those words, Naya felt as if her heart had dropped out of her chest and into the pit of her stomach. It hurt and she felt the pain and anger of being so vulnerable and so rejected course through her whole body. _"Yeah, well wow. Whoever thought that being fluid meant you could be so stuck?"_

"_I'm sorry. Don't…" _Heather reached for Naya to pull her into a hug.

Naya snapped back and pushed her away. _"Get off me!"_ She lingered in the shot for a second and then walked out of frame as Ryan had instructed her earlier.

"_**Cut! Circle it!"**_ Ryan called out from behind the monitor. He stood up from his chair and gave a few congratulatory claps while addressing Naya. She was standing halfway down the hallway set, drying her tears from her face. "Naya that was perfect. I don't think we're going to need another take. Good job."

She nodded, thanking him for the compliment and turned around so she could dry her tears more privately, but there were extras all over the hallway. She started walking toward that secluded corner behind one of the set walls that she went to earlier.

Just as she rounded the corner of the set wall she was swiftly turned around by someone who had gently grabbed her wrist. When Naya turned she saw it was Heather and threw her arms around the blonde's neck as Heather pulled Naya's body in close for a hug. Naya buried her head into Heather's neck as a few more tears escaped her eyes.

Heather squezzed tight around Naya's waist and then gently rubbed small circles at the center of her back. "See, I told you you were gonna be great. You were amazing."

Naya sniffled and then smiled into Heather's neck. They didn't have a whole lot of time before they had to be back at the lockers to continue shooting the scene from various angles, but for the limited time they had, Heather held Naya close to her like she was holding her together so she wouldn't fall a part.

* * *

I hope you liked this chapter. I've included a fanvideo of this ending scene. I totally recommend that you watch it. It's one of my favs. Just put youtube at the beginning:

.com/watch?v=_N8FhmCLDsw&feature=channel_video_title

Thank for reading! I hope to have a new chapter up soon. And don't forget to leave a review if you feel so inclined :)


	7. Only If You Try It

**A/N:** So sorry for the wait again. Things got a little busy for me this past week but I'm trying to get at least one chapter out every week. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. I seriously appreciate it and I'm glad you all are liking this story. Here's another chapter for all you wonderful readers. I think it has a little bit of everything for you to enjoy.

The song used at the very end of this chapter is "Holes to Heaven" by Jack Johnson. It's not physically in the scene but it's meant to soundtrack it, starting from the line, "She set the letter down…" and all the way through to the end of the chapter.

Just add youtube to the beginning:

.com/watch?v=4jXe5VxWV5M

Happy Reading! :)

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch. 7 Only If You Try It**

Heather hopped onto the back of the golf cart with Cory following right behind, while Kevin jumped into the front seat. One of the production assistants was driving the golf cart and still had it in Park as she finished up a phone call. Just as the conversation on the phone was wrapping up, Naya wheeled out of the big warehouse door opening on the side of the Stage 14 building. She was in the wheelchair Kevin used while shooting and she was spinning the wheels towards the golf cart as fast as her arms would allow.

Cory and Heather both side glanced each other and smirked. Then they simultaneously clutched their respective side seat railings of the backward facing seat and excitedly looked back at Naya. Heather extended her left arm out the back of the golf cart and Cory did the same with his right arm. With their outstretched hands, both made gestures for Naya to get closer to the golf cart before it started pulling away. The production assistant ended her phone call, shifted the cart into drive and started pulling away down the in-road of the lot. Naya wheeled faster trying to catch up to the back of the cart. She was just a few feet away and made one last big, exaggerated push on the wheels with her arms, propelling her forward. Heather leaned forward, straining her arm out towards Naya who was leaning forward in the moving wheelchair and straining her arms out to grab on to Heather and Cory's. Naya's hands barely made it but she gripped Heather and Cory's hands and they held on to her as the cart pulled her in the wheelchair.

Naya held her face in a silent and big, open-mouthed smile. Heather started giggling. The production assistant turned her head back slightly and then did a double take.

"What? Naya!" she sounded exasperated.

Naya started giggling too and Heather continued laughing even louder.

Kevin turned around in his seat and laughed for a brief moment before completely changing his tone, joining the production assistant with his exasperated expression. "Bee! I left that in the choir room set for a reason. Paul's gonna kill me if it goes missing or you break it!"

The production assistant slowed the cart down but didn't stop it completely so Naya wouldn't ram into the back of it with her forward momentum. "Yeah and if any of you get hurt they'll _actually_ kill me! Naya please let go," she called out.

Naya came down from her giggling. "Okay, okay. Don't get your panties in a twist." Naya let go of Heather and Cory's hands and the wheelchair slowed to a stop further behind the cart.

The production assistant stopped the cart and turned her head back. Heather and Cory were still snickering at their own antics. "Thank you Naya," the assistant called out behind her with mild castigation.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to get you in trouble," Naya sheepishly apologized.

The assistant lifted her hand up in an understanding manner and turned forward as she began driving again.

Just as the cart was taking off, Heather jumped off the back of it and happily ran back to Naya who was still sitting in the chair in the middle of the in-road. Heather made her way to the back of the wheelchair and grabbed onto the handles, spinning it around to face back at Stage 14. "Come on. Let's get this back to Paul before he has a heart attack."

"I swear he treats his props like they're his own children," Naya commented. Paul was the prop master for the show and he took his prop check-in and check-out quite seriously. Naya never meant to get Kevin in trouble with Paul but she really loved stealing his wheelchair and riding around in it.

Heather started running and pushing the wheelchair, making racecar noises as they rounded corners. Naya sat in the wheelchair with her hands in front of her like she was driving a car and joined Heather in making racecar noises as they sped through the lot and back into the warehouse to the section where most of the props were kept.

"Errrr!" Heather made a sound like she was slamming on the brakes of a car as she abruptly halted the wheelchair, skidding it to the side in front of a long plastic table stacked with various props.

Naya had a huge smile on her face as she swayed to the side with the momentum of the once fast moving wheelchair and thudded into the back of the chair. They both held their breath for a moment and then simultaneously burst out into a fit of giggles and laughter.

Naya hopped out of the chair and Heather wheeled it to the side of the table. Naya started casually looking through some of the random items on the prop table: a clock, a pair of big, floppy clown shoes, a calculator, a small mirror. She picked up a yo-yo and threw the string of it down so the yo-yo could spin. She kept it hanging there until it stopped spinning and retracted the string, bringing the yo-yo back up into her hand. She looked at Heather and giggled, as if to say, _Why do we even have this stuff here?_

Heather giggled back as Naya placed the yo-yo back on the table. There were two lampshades on the table and Heather picked one of them up, turning it around in her hands and looking at it curiously. She picked up a flashlight and placed the lampshade on top of her head. She brought the flashlight up inside the lampshade, just in front of her face. "Look, I'm a light bulb!" She clicked the flashlight on and the light shone inside the lampshade and through the hole at the top of it.

Naya giggled and nodded her head approvingly. "You make a good lamp."

Heather took the lampshade off her head and placed the flashlight back on the table. She picked up the other lampshade and held the cone shaped items to her chest, just over her boobs. "I don't think they make a bra big enough for me."

Naya burst out in loud laughter, craning forward and clutching her stomach and then bobbed her head back. Heather laughed even more, the smile on her face even bigger than before.

"That's perfect. We'll have to find a size Z bra for you," Naya spoke through her giggling.

"Double Z," Heather said and she put the lampshades down.

"Come on, let's get outta here," Naya said as she came down from her laughter and started walking away from the prop table.

Heather placed the lampshades back on the table and skipped toward Naya to catch up with her.

They walked through the warehouse the way that they came in and made their way back to the in-roads of the lot, walking toward the wardrobe truck so they could change back into their street clothes.

They were walking side-by-side and Heather grabbed Naya's forearm with both her hands and started jumping up and down. "I'm so excited about our night off tonight. Junk food night!" Heather let go of her arm when she stopped jumping up and down.

Naya let out a small laugh.

"What movie should we watch?" Heather continued.

"I don't know. I figured we'd just find something on Netflix. There's a couple of documentaries that looked interesting on there that I wanna see."

"No. No documentaries. Bor-ring," Heather playfully chided.

"What? Come on, documentaries are cool. There's a lot of really good information in those and you get to see something you might otherwise not know about," Naya defended her interest in documentary films.

"Documentaries are cool but I don't wanna watch one tonight. Let's see something fun and entertaining. Something where I don't have to think so much about the state of the world and how it's going to hell in a hand basket. Documentaries can be depressing sometimes."

"Okay. Hmm." Naya brought her fingers up to her mouth and wiggled them in front of her pursed out lips, trying to think of a movie Heather might like. "What about a thriller?" She snapped her fingers like she'd just come up with the greatest idea in the world. "Like 'Memento!' Great movie!"

"Never saw it."

Naya stopped walking and had her mouth gaping opening. Heather had walked a couple of paces forward, not expecting Naya to stop, and she looked back at her.

"You've never seen 'Memento'?"

Heather shook her head.

"Gah! It's sooo good." Naya excitedly skipped forward so they were walking side by side again and started animatedly explaining the movie. "Guy Pearce plays this guy who finds his wife has been murdered and he tries to figure out who the killer is. Only he has short-term memory loss so he has to, like, leave himself notes and tattoos himself with clues and hints as he figures it out. And there's like this whole time warp thing with flashbacks and stuff as the story moves forward."

"Hmm. Cool, but it sounds kinda complicated."

"It's soo good."

"How about a romcom?" Heather perked up. "Like 'You've Got Mail' or something. I could use some Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan."

"That movie'll probably be on TNT over the weekend. They rerun it all the time. That and 'Twister'," Naya dismissed. Heather started to pout a little bit. Naya tried to think of a way to backtrack before Heather went into full on pouting mode. "A romcom sounds good though. I'd be down for that."

Heather perked up again and started running through various movie titles in her head. "Oooh! How about 'Love and Other Drugs?'"

"The Jake Gyllenhaal and Anne Hathaway movie that came out a while back?"

"Yeah! I never saw it and it looked kinda good. Plus Jake Gyllenhaal is super cute."

"Hmm, yeah, okay. That sounds good."

A whirring sound made both of them cut their conversation and look straight forward at where the sound was coming from. An extra long golf cart filled with tourists was driving in their direction. Naya smiled and waved. Heather did the same. As the golf cart approached they saw two teenage girls bouncing in their seats and asking the cart driver something. Heather thought she heard one of the girls let out a high-pitched squealing noise. The cart started to slow down and stopped just in front of Naya and Heather.

"Looks like you two have a couple of fans here," the driver gestured toward the two overly excited girls sitting in the center row of the golf cart. "Do you mind if they get an autograph?" the driver asked politely.

"No, not at all." Naya smiled and started walking toward the center row of the golf cart where the girls were. Heather followed.

The girls clamored out of the cart. One of them was wearing black-framed glasses and had a camera in hand. The other girl was a tall blonde and had a notebook and a pen. They couldn't have been more than fifteen years old.

"Hi! How are you?" Naya greeted them.

"Hey there," Heather waved and greeted them as she walked up next to Naya.

The girls were wide-eyed and wearing huge smiles. "Oh my God! Naya! Heather! We're such huge fans. Like total Gleeks. We love you. You're our favorite," the girl with the glasses excitedly rambled.

"Yeah! You two are totally our favorite characters on the show. Naya you have such an amazing voice!" the tall blonde chimed in.

"And Heather, you're like the best dancer in the world!"

"Thanks," Heather and Naya said at the same time and then giggled. "That's so sweet," Naya added.

"We know you're probably busy but can we get an autograph and maybe a picture?" the tall blonde tried asking as politely as possible but it was difficult with the adrenaline running through her body.

Naya smiled. "Yeah sure."

The tall blonde held out her notebook and pen.

"What are your names?" Naya asked as she took the pen and notebook.

"I'm Amber and this is Lindsay," the girl with the glasses answered.

"Well it's really nice to meet you Amber and Lindsay." Naya wrote a little note and signed the notebook.

When Naya was done signing she handed the notebook and pen to Heather.

Naya gestured toward Amber's black-framed glasses. "I have a pair of glasses like those. They look better on you though."

Amber's eyes went wide as she touched the sides of her glasses and made her mouth in the shape of an O. The two girls looked to each other and started giggling.

As Heather finished signing she smirked and shifted her eyes over to Naya who was smiling at the two girls. Heather was always so taken with how well Naya handled herself with the public. With fans, she was so effortlessly friendly and generally could find a sincere compliment to give to anyone. With the press, she always kept her cool and knew exactly the right thing to say. Even with the crew and people on set, Naya was just a genuinely good-hearted person. Contradictory to the diva stereotypes of young actresses in Hollywood, Naya actually made it a point to get to know everyone on set, from the director, cast and crew, to the production interns who mostly just got coffee for people.

It was an admirable quality to have and Heather was grateful to have Naya by her side, especially when it came to the press. Heather would usually clam up or get nervous and completely lose her filter. Whenever she was in interviews she felt like she was exposing herself to the whole world because she had no sense of control over what would be okay to reveal and what she needed to keep to herself. Everything would come out as one continuous stretch of word-vomit that she didn't know how to keep back. Naya was the complete opposite and always knew how to conduct herself with friendly sincerity and poise. Heather was glad Naya was usually right next to her when it came to fans and the press because Naya could handle anything for the both of them.

The two teenage girls handed off the camera to someone in the golf cart and they took a quick picture with Naya and Heather. Naya gave both of the girls a hug and Heather did the same before the two girls got back in the golf cart. Naya and Heather waved goodbye as the golf cart drove off down the road.

"Well they were nice," Naya commented.

"I don't think your glasses look bad on you. You look super cute in them actually," Heather said in reference to Naya's earlier remark.

Naya blushed a little and quickly turned her head to the side, trying to hide it. "Oh please," She modestly scoffed. "You don't have to be nice. There's a reason I wear contacts."

Heather smiled affectionately at Naya as they both turned around to continue walking toward the wardrobe truck.

The truck was just another sixty yards or so down the road. Naya side glanced Heather. "Race ya to the truck!" She smiled wide and took off running.

"Hey! No fair! You got a head start!" Heather took off running after her.

* * *

Naya pulled out a coffee mug from her kitchen cabinet and set it down on the counter. She checked the time on the digital clock on the microwave and figured she should probably order the pizza while the coffee brewed. She went to skinny drawer where she kept various take-out menus of her favorite restaurants and pulled out the menu for 'Gino's' so she could get the number.

She was excited about Heather coming over to hang out tonight. Things between them felt normal again, like they were back into the comfortable and wacky rhythm they'd always had. Of course it still tore Naya up that every time Heather did something cute she couldn't just kiss her for being so adorable, or every time they hugged or were goofing off and bumped into each other, really anytime their bodies happened to be close together or touching, Naya got this bursting rush, this tingling sensation through her whole body that made her stomach twist and knot in the best way possible.

When they definitively decided that their friendship would return to normal, it took Naya a while to figure out how to manage those feelings. She wasn't even sure if she could even fully manage them. It had only been a little over a week since that conversation. The first few days had been a little difficult but she'd gotten better at it, or maybe she was just slowly getting used to it. Regardless, those feelings were still there and they were huge. They were the kind of feelings that seemed to fill her whole body like a giant hot air balloon that would make her float away. It still took an inordinate amount of focus and energy for Naya not to just kiss Heather for seemingly no apparent reason other than the fact that she's in love with her, but…she was managing.

Naya heard the muffled sound of a car door slamming just outside. She heard the car door open and then slam again and she smiled.

_She's here!_

It was unmistakable. There was no denying that Heather's VW beetle was old. It was from the 80's and Heather should probably invest in a newer car but she wouldn't part ways with it, no matter how bad it got. She usually had to slam the driver side door in order to get it to shut all the way, and even then, she sometimes had to fiddle with the door handle and then slam it shut a second time.

Knock-Knock

"It's open!" Naya called out.

Heather swung the door open and stepped inside. She was carrying one of those reusable, cloth grocery bags and had an empty gallon of Sunny D tucked under her arm.

Naya pulled her cell phone out of her back pocket. "I'm about to order." She started dialing.

"Sweet! I am so ready for food."

Naya held the phone up to her ear. "Oh, did you want mushrooms or green peppers this time?" Heather stood in the middle of the living room with a contemplative look on her face, like she couldn't decide. "Tell me now or forever hold your peace."

Heather's mouth instantly went into a grin. "Forever hold my pizza!" She laughed at her play on the similar vowel sounds between 'peace' and 'pizza.'

Naya just shook her head. "Dork."

Heather smiled and set the Sunny D bottle and grocery bag down on the coffee table. "You know you love my dork-a-liscious-ness."

Naya let out a small laugh and shook her head again before turning around to face the coffeemaker on the counter.

_You have no idea._

She poured herself some coffee as the pizza guy on the other end of the phone answered. When she was done on the phone she took a sip of her coffee and set the phone down on the counter. Just as she was turning around, Heather yelled out, "Think fast!" and Naya saw the Sunny D bottle flying towards her. Her reflexes were fast and she smacked the bottle back across the kitchen and into the living room where it landed right at Heather's feet. When the bottle got to Heather's feet she kicked it and it hit the small wall space between where the kitchen counter ended and the wall of the breakfast nook area. "Score!" Heather bent one of her knees to the ground and threw her arms in the air.

Naya laughed and shook her head again as she picked up her coffee mug and walked to the living room. "Still a dork."

"Coffee addict," Heather challenged as she gestured toward the coffee mug in Naya's hand.

"It's decaf," Naya sheepishly said as she sipped from her cup and walked behind the couch.

Heather shrugged. "Doesn't make it less true."

Naya rolled her eyes and then smiled as she sat down Indian style on the far side of the couch and facing the kitchen.

Heather picked up the grocery bag and turned it upside down, dumping all of its contents onto the coffee table. A waterfall of junk food and candy poured out onto the table; gummy bears, Twizzlers, Sour Patch kids, Swedish Fish, Sun Chips, Oreos, cookie dough bites, Dots, Twix and Snickers bars.

"Jesus! What'd you do? Knock over a candy store?"

Heather's face became serious for a moment. "No, Jesus would never rob a candy store because I'm pretty sure he could magically make candy out of anything."

Naya smirked. "Hmm, not only a dork but a smartass too."

Heather bounced her eyebrows up. "I'm just full of surprises." Heather picked up the newly bought package of double stuffed Oreos, tossed it up in the air so it spun and caught it in her hands.

She sat on the couch, Indian style and facing Naya. Heather tore into the plastic of the Oreo package, paying absolutely no attention to conventional package opening methods. The package ended up just having a huge gash through the top of it. Naya giggled and smiled into the top of her coffee mug as she took another sip and Heather dropped the Oreos package between them. Heather took out two Oreos, took one of the chocolate ends off of each and held them out for Naya to take.

"Thanks." Naya took the Oreo tops and placed one of them in her lap while she dipped the other into her coffee.

"I still think that's weird. You're supposed to dip Oreos in milk, not coffee."

"It's good!" Naya said through her chewing. She swallowed the Oreo and continued. "And besides, the only time I do it is when you give me the ends you don't want so you can make Quadruple Stuffed Oreos."

Heather smashed the two filling parts of her one-sided double stuffed Oreos together. "It's still weird." She stuffed the newly made oversized Oreo in her mouth.

Naya giggled again and picked up the other Oreo end in her lap. "Well when you stop making Quadruple Stuffed Oreos, I'll stop dipping the discarded ends in my coffee."

"Never!" Heather exclaimed through her chewing. It took her a little longer to be done with eating the cookie and then she continued. "It's Quadruple! That's like four times better than a regular Oreo."

Naya tried to think of a better alternative to Oreos and coffee. "How about if I dipped Oreos in peanut butter?" she offered.

"Eww! No, that's gross!" Heather disapproved as she reached for two more Oreos.

"What? It's chocolate and peanut butter! It's like the best combo since Keith Richards and Mick Jagger." Naya was shocked at Heather distaste with the idea.

"I don't like chocolate and peanut butter. Now, carrots and peanut butter is freakin' delicious!" Heather held out two more Oreo ends for Naya to take.

Naya set her coffee mug down on the coffee table and brought her hands back to her lap. "Wait, hold up. Carrots?" She cocked her eyebrow. "Eww."

Heather tipped her head to the side and grinned. She put the Oreo ends on top of the plastic package and then jumped off the couch and raced to the kitchen. She came back with a jar of peanut butter and a bag of carrots. She dipped one of the carrots in the peanut butter, pulling a huge glob of it out on the carrot and held it out to Naya.

"Eww. No."

"Just try it."

"It looks gross."

"Come on."

Naya reached for an Oreo end and her coffee. She held them out to Heather. "Only if you try it."

Heather looked at Naya skeptically but took the coffee and Oreo as Naya took the carrot with the peanut butter. They both glanced down at their respective culinary challenges and then stared at each other for a small moment, both reluctant to try the other's quirky eating habits.

"On three." Naya announced.

Together they counted down. "One…Two…Three!"

Heather dipped the Oreo end in the coffee and ate it while Naya crunched down on the carrot with peanut butter. They both took a second to taste what they'd just put in their mouths. Then they both scrunched and contorted their faces, disapproving of their respective snacking challenges. Seeing each other's wildly animated facial reactions, they simultaneously burst out in laughter.

When the pizza arrived they dug right in and started the movie. Had it been a movie they'd both seen plenty of times before they would've been making wisecracks and riffing their way through the film with a running commentary, but they shared a common annoyance with people who talk during films they'd never seen before. So they were content and quiet, sitting on the couch and completely tuned in to watching the movie.

Heather sat on one side of the couch, her arm on the armrest and propping her head up while her legs were extended out onto the coffee table. Naya sat at the other end of the couch, curled up in a ball and hugging one of the throw pillows. About halfway through the movie Naya's head started to droop to the side and onto the back of the couch. She didn't realize she was tired until she actually had a moment to just sit and relax. She was fighting off sleep because she wanted to watch the rest of the movie but it was proving to be difficult. She let out a big yawn and rested back into the couch determined to stay awake.

Heather glanced over as Naya let out her yawning sound. Heather thought Naya looked like she was in a slightly uncomfortable position, curled up in a sideways ball and the side of her head resting on the back of the couch.

"Hey," Heather said quietly, almost whispering.

Naya raised her head slightly, her eyes and attention diverting over to Heather. "Hmm?"

Heather tilted her head to the side and patted softly at her shoulder, beckoning Naya to come sit next to her on the couch. Naya, too tired to fully smile, brought the corner of her lips up and crawled up next to Heather, slightly turning her body into her. Heather smiled back as Naya nestled her head to rest in the crook of Heather's neck.

There was no thought process that went through Heather's head. She just saw Naya was tired and awkwardly positioned on the couch and, without thinking, instinctively wanted the brunette to curl up next to her and rest her head on her shoulder. So she made that happen, and now Heather couldn't think of anywhere else she'd rather be than sitting on this couch with Naya, all warm and comfortable, curled up next to her.

Naya's hand was completely relaxed and resting on her leg. Heather glanced down at it a few times. She had an overwhelming urge to simply place her hand on top of Naya's, thread her fingers through hers and just hold her hand. Heather began using her thumb to fiddle with the ring on her right hand instead.

It wasn't the first time Heather had fleeting urges or overwhelming feelings directed towards Naya. There were several instances in the past week or so that Heather had caught herself gazing in Naya's direction, completely taken by her beauty or her laugh or her smile. And then there were moments where all Heather wanted to do was just reach out and touch her, hold her hand, wrap her arms around her and kiss her. Over time these feelings were becoming bigger and bigger and they were increasing in frequency.

They had even become prevalent in her dreams. More than once in the past couple of days, Heather had startled herself awake from dreams about kissing Naya. The dreams were different every time but the format was always the same; they'd be innocently hanging out and then all of a sudden some small thing, a touch, a smile, a glance would change the whole mood of the circumstances and they ended up kissing.

She kept trying to shove all these feelings away because she didn't know what to do with them, but the more she did that the stronger they came back. She'd even developed a nervous tick because of it. Whenever she had those type of feelings toward Naya she would use her thumb to adjust the ring on her finger or continuously turn the ring around and around.

Naya was slowly sinking further and further into Heather until her eyes became too heavy and she fell asleep. Heather could tell she was asleep by the change in her breathing and by how slack and relaxed her body felt. Heather turned her head slowly so she could look down at Naya but she didn't want to wake her. She looked so peaceful, like she was having a good dream. Heather wasn't paying attention to the movie anymore. It could've been over already. She didn't know. She didn't care. Since Naya was asleep, Heather decided that maybe just this once, it was okay to not shove any feelings away.

Naya's hand was still slack and resting on her knee, palm up. Heather reached her hand out and gently threaded her fingers through Naya's and held her hand as she peacefully slept. All Heather could feel was the warmth and comfort from Naya's body, turned in and pressed next to her, her head nestled into Heather, fitting there like a puzzle piece. Heather relaxed her body further into the couch and tilted her head to the side, letting it rest just above Naya's. She shut her eyes for a few minutes as the ending credits of the movie played on the television.

* * *

The cast was on the tail end of shooting 'Original Song' before their two day weekend break. With all the musical numbers being the first things they shot for the episode everyone was finding that there was an abundance of downtime on set. It resulted in the cast developing a bored but giddy kind of vibe during the extra 'waiting around' time. More pranks were being pulled, there was more horsing around, and just more general tomfoolery amongst the cast.

Currently Cory, Mark, Chord, Kevin and Heather were in an all out prank war. The day before, Heather had put duct tape on the sink nozzle in Cory's trailer, leaving a little gap towards the front so when he turned on the sink water it sprayed up into his face. In retaliation he took her favorite denim jacket hostage and claimed he would do horrible things to it. They were empty threats. He wasn't really going to do anything horrible. He was just hiding it from her to make her sweat about it, but she desperately wanted it back and was doing everything in her power to find it. Kevin told her that Cory gave it to Naya to hide in her trailer because it was the last place Heather would look. As soon as Heather found out she rushed over to Naya's trailer.

Naya was wearing a zip up hoodie and sitting on her couch flipping through a book she was curious about reading when she heard Heather clank up the metal stairs of the trailer.

Naya looked up towards the door as Heather entered. "Hey!" Naya grinned. Heather stood in the doorway with her hands on her hips and an accusatory look on her face. Naya's face dropped. "Oh no," she whispered to herself.

"You have it, don't you."

Naya gulped. "Have what?" She really was a terrible liar when it came to Heather. It was obvious Naya knew where the jacket was.

"You totally have it! Come on, please give it back to me."

Naya thought it might be fun to tease Heather a bit and a smirk appeared on her face. "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Heather started to pout. "Come on, you know it's my favorite."

Naya started to snicker. Heather looked like a five-year old about to throw a tantrum but somehow she made it look like the most adorable thing in the world. Suddenly a sneaky grin appeared on Heather's face as she started moving towards Naya.

"Oh no. No, no no no no no." Naya put her hands in front of her and started inching across the couch away from Heather. She knew what that type of smirk meant – a tickle torture fest.

Heather lunged toward Naya.

"Ah!" Naya yelped as she sprung from the couch and Heather just barely missed her. Heather kept that smirk on her face and continued chasing Naya around the trailer. She figured it wouldn't be too hard to catch her. It was a small trailer. But Naya was agile and dodged a lot of Heather's attempts, twisting her body away whenever Heather's hands got close to the sides of her torso where she was most vulnerable to tickling. Naya was able to run out of the trailer and out onto the cement outside. When she was a good distance away from the trailer she turned around to see Heather right behind her. Naya bolted to the side, dodging Heather once more and ran back to the trailer, up the metal steps and swinging the door to close behind her. She was unsuccessful in shutting it and it was left cracked open.

Naya immediately went to the slim full-length cabinet and pulled out Heather's jacket from the shelf. It was folded and rolled up in an oblong shape. Naya easily clutched it in her right hand. When she turned back to the door, Heather had just run back into the trailer.

"I knew you had it!"

Naya started giggling. Then Heather started giggling as she lunged forward toward the brunette. Naya wanted to see how long she could keep this up and ducked under Heather's arm and around her to get to the other side of the trailer and out the door but Heather whipped around and snagged the sleeve of Naya's hoodie with her right hand.

Naya was caught. Heather had a good hold on her left sleeve and was tugging on it while Naya held the jacket out and away with her right arm extended. Heather was reaching for the jacket with her left hand but couldn't reach it between tugging on Naya's hoodie sleeve with one hand and straining her arm out with the other. Plus, Naya was putting up a good fight, pulling her whole body towards the door and trying to keep the jacket out of Heather's reach. It created some physical tension centered where Heather was tugging on Naya's sleeve. Both of them started giggling even more.

"Come on," Heather forced out the words through her laughing.

"Nope," Naya was also forcing the words out through her laughter. "You're gonna have to come up with something better to get it back."

Another mischievous grin appeared on Heather's face. She had an idea. She dropped her left hand down toward Naya's waist and pulled back hard on the hoodie sleeve with her other hand. Naya's whole body swiftly wheeled around at the sudden force of the pull and Heather hooked her left hand around Naya's waist to try and catch her. The momentum caused Naya's arm to swing out and then wrap around Heather's shoulder and back. As Naya's hand landed on Heather's back, she dropped the jacket.

"Oh!" "Whoa." They both let out a surprised sound as their bodies suddenly crashed together.

The move took all of one second, if that, and their bodies ended up pressed together, their arms loosely wrapped around each other. They both let out a small giggle at the sudden change in positioning. Their faces were inches apart and as they both tilted their heads back up, their noses grazed against each other briefly. When their eyes met they slowly stopped laughing, their giddy smiles gradually fading as everything became quiet and their eyes held each other's gaze for a prolonged moment of anticipation.

Naya's arm slowly curled further around Heather's shoulder and back. Simultaneously, Heather gently tightened her hold around Naya's waist, cradling her torso. Naya closed her eyes, leaned in and softly pressed her lips to Heather's. Heather closed her eyes as Naya's lips caressed hers and she drew in a deep breath through her nose as if she were surprised or caught of guard by the kiss. It created a vaccum that drew their lips even closer together. It was as if there was some sort of lifeline that held them so close, like it would take the jaws of life for them to ever separate. But Naya began pulling back, pulling Heather's upper lip with her for a second before she completely pulled her lips away.

The second they detached Heather leaned forward and pressed their lips together again, this time with a feeling sensuous longing, which Naya readily reciprocated. Heather wrapped her hands further around Naya's waist and held her closer as Naya moved one hand to the small of Heather's back and her other cradled Heather's neck.

Heather felt her stomach knotting and twisting and doing back flips and summersaults and at the same time her whole body seemed to burst with a tingling sort of warmth. Kissing Naya, it made her feel like she was flying, like she could lift off the ground, float away and never come back down. She was completely melting at the touch of Naya's smooth, velvety lips. This was way better than the dreams Heather had been having lately; the dreams where her and Naya kissed and then Heather woke up.

_Wait, this isn't a dream. I'm not waking up._

Heather stopped moving her lips and her hands tensed up.

_This is actually happening. Shit!_

Heather abruptly broke their kiss and stumbled backward, breaking all physical contact with the brunette.

"Uh…um, uh." Heather stammered until her back reached the wall behind her and she had nowhere else to stumble back to. When she reached the wall she gulped. She looked frightened and confused and surprised and like there were a million different feelings and thoughts running through her head and there was no way to pin any one of them down.

Naya could see all of that on Heather's face and knew the girl was suddenly scared, which was a stark contrast to Naya's exhilaration just a second ago. But Naya was concerned. Heather was completely frightened, like she'd just broken a major law and was afraid of the consequences.

Naya went to take hold of Heather's hand to try and comfort her. "Heather…" she said just above a whisper.

Heather bolted for the door, rushing past Naya.

"Heather, wait!" Naya called out trying to snag Heather's arm as the blonde ran out of the trailer. But it was no use. In a flash she was gone, swinging the door to close behind her but it was left cracked open with Naya standing in the middle of her trailer completely baffled. She was completely thrown by everything that had just happened.

* * *

Dianna was just walking up to the row of trailers when she saw Heather frantically burst out of Naya's trailer, run over to a stray golf cart and drive off in the opposite direction. Dianna called out to her but Heather either didn't hear her or just ignored her. She wondered what the hell was going on. Dianna was a bit of a distance away but that didn't look like Heather was horsing around with some prank. That looked like she'd just seen something that scared the ever-living hell out of her.

Dianna quickened her pace and caught up to Naya's trailer. She knocked softly on the door, which was cracked open. When she peered in she saw Naya sitting on her couch, leaning forward with her head in her hands. Dianna swung the door open and made sure to close it behind her before she turned all of her concern toward Naya.

"What happened?"

Naya brought her head up. Her mouth hung open like she didn't know what to say or where to start. She looked hurt and Dianna could see Naya's eyes were straining, possibly trying to hold back any tears that were building.

"Come on, talk to me."

Naya leaned back on the couch, her back and head hitting it in a huff. "I fucked up. I ruined everything!" Her voice was cracking.

"I'm sure you didn't fuck everything up. What exactly happened?"

Naya started rambling out everything that was coursing through her head. "I knew she just wanted to be friends. I knew it! And I gave in anyway and fucked everything up. It was hard but I was dealing with it, with all my feelings. Everything was going fine and then I had to go and kiss her. And now she's freaked out because I'm her best friend. Just her best friend. Nothing more and I'm not supposed to be kissing her like that."

"Whoa, slow down and back it up a second. You kissed her?"

Naya sniffled. "Yeah."

Dianna was curious and looking for more clarification. "Well did you just kiss her for the hell of it or was there something that made you think that kissing her might be a good idea?"

Naya threw her hand up in the air and let it smack back down on the couch. Her eyes rolled up to the ceiling as she tried searching for the right explanation. "I dunno. We were just goofing off. I had her jacket and one second she was chasing me around and then we like bumped into each other and all of sudden we were like right up next to each other. And then I just…I couldn't help it! I just did it! Like all of sudden I was just kissing her and I had no clue how I got there."

"Okay, well maybe it's not as bad as you think. Maybe she was just caught off guard and didn't know what to do. What did she do after you kissed her?"

Naya stood from the couch and gestured her hand toward the door. "She ran away! I kissed her and she fucking ran away. That seems like a pretty clear reaction to me."

Dianna worried her lip trying to find a logical and reassuring response to all this but it was proving to be difficult.

Naya sighed and continued rambling her thoughts out, her voice becoming more desperate. "I'm just confusing the hell out of her and she's probably freaked out and wants nothing to do with me. I can't handle that. I can't handle her not being comfortable around me or if she just doesn't want to be anywhere near me. It'll hurt too much and it'll kill me. I won't be able to—"

Dianna interjected. "Don't you think you're being a little hyperbolic? I mean you guys are friends and this is just a crush you have. I mean, no offense but your crushes tend to last like two weeks tops."

Naya glared at her for the harsh comment. Dianna defensively threw her hands in front of herself. "Okay, sorry. I know it's different because it's Heather but if it's so difficult to be around her without wanting to kiss her all the time then maybe you should find a different crush."

"That's not gonna happen. Trust me."

"Well it's either that or tell her how you really feel?" Dianna was trying to get Naya to see some logic in this.

"No, I can't do that. I mean if she freaked out over a kiss then there's no way I can tell her how I really feel."

"She's a big girl. I think she can handle you having a crush on her," Dianna pressed.

"I can't tell her!" Naya said sternly.

"Why not?" Dianna pressed further.

"Because I'm in love with her!"

Dianna's mouth hung open and her eyes went wide with surprise. Naya immediately cupped her hand over her mouth as the words she'd just said hung in the air. Neither of them knew what to say next.

Naya looked down and ran her hands through her hair as she sat down and sunk back into the couch. She closed her eyes trying to think of what she could possibly say to break the shocking silence. She took a deep breath as she resolved herself. She fluttered her eyes open to the ceiling and then leaned forward resting her elbows on her knees.

She spoke softly but was resolute in her next words. "I'm in love with her…and I know she doesn't feel the same way. I can't handle that type of rejection."

Dianna moved to sit next to her on the couch, still a little taken aback by her admission. "Naya, I…I had no idea you felt that way about her. I mean...that deeply for her."

Naya slammed her eyes shut, squinting, and shook her head back and forth. "Yeah, well I'm just…I'm confusing her and I need to stop it." She let out a deep and fatigued sigh. "All she wants is a friend so that's what I need to be."

Both of them sat there in silence. Dianna didn't know what to say to alleviate Naya's frustration or make the situation any better. All she could do was be there with her friend while Naya tried to figure out how to get things back on track with Heather. She knew she couldn't handle another awkward episode with their friendship and she needed to do something to make everything right again before it got worse.

* * *

Heather was on her way home from Jay and Nikki's dance studio. She had been spending a lot of time there, hiding out over the two-day weekend break in between episodes. She would help them out with little odds and ends around the studio and use one of the rehearsal spaces to dance all of her confusion away whenever they weren't busy. Naya had called her a few times and sent a few text messages over the weekend but Heather had done everything to avoid her on their last day of shooting 'Original Song' and all throughout the weekend. She figured if she wasn't around Naya and avoided her then she could avoid having all these new and confusing feelings that she was so scared of and she wouldn't have to deal with it. Her plan wasn't working though. Trying to avoid it only made it bigger. It had gotten to the point where Heather couldn't stop thinking about Naya. She was in a constant daydream where everything reminded her of the brunette. And the more she thought of Naya, the more she had to confront the fact that she was attracted to her; sexually, romantically, emotionally, everything. It also left her with more questions than answers. She had no clue what she was going to do when she got to set the next day. She knew being in such close proximity to Naya would only amplify all these new feelings she was having, all these feelings that she thought she shouldn't be having and didn't know what to do with, or how to deal with them. All she knew was that she couldn't stop thinking about Naya all weekend. She couldn't stop thinking about that kiss and how it made her feel and that it actually happened. With Naya on her mind at practically all hours of the day and night it was getting harder and harder to avoid her. Heather hoped that all the extra dancing she did earlier in the day would make her exhausted enough to get a good night's rest and she could figure out what to do in the morning.

Heather walked through the front door of her house. As she shut the door she shrugged the strap of her backpack back onto her shoulder because it had been falling.

"Yo!" Ashley said from the couch, not looking up from her laptop.

"Hey," Heather sluggishly responded.

"Long day?"

"Yeah, I'm ready for bed," Heather said as she put her keys in the small dish on the table next to the front door. The keys made a clinking noise as they dropped into the dish.

"Oh, by the way, Naya stopped by."

Heather halted and immediately turned her head in Ashley's direction. "Wait, what? What'd she want? Did she say anything?"

With a strange and quizzical look on her face, Ashley slowly turned her head toward Heather. "She just dropped off a bag. Some stuff you left at her place I guess. I put it up in your room." Ashley gestured toward the stairs and continued reading on her laptop.

Heather quickly ran up the stairs to her room like she was a bullet that had just been fired from a gun. When she entered her room, sitting on top of her bed was her reusable, cloth grocery bag she'd left at Naya's a week ago. She dropped her backpack by the door and rushed to look inside the bag. She peered inside and let out a little laugh as she pulled out a newly bought jar of peanut butter and a bag of carrots. She didn't really know what it meant but she thought the gesture was incredibly cute.

She peered inside the bag again to see if there was anything else and saw an envelope with her name written on it. She pulled the envelope out of the bag and smiled at Naya's handwriting of Heather's name on the outside of it before opening it. Inside was a handwritten letter. She read it as she sat on the edge of her bed.

_Heather,_

_I'm not really sure how to say any of this and I'm not sure if any of this will even make any sense but I feel like there are a few things that I need to say, so here it goes. First of all, I want to apologize if my actions have made you feel confused or uncomfortable in any way and I'm sorry if I've made things awkward again. That's the last thing I want and I hate to think that you've been avoiding me these last few days because of it. _

_You deserve the truth and the truth is, I'd be lying if I said that I don't have feelings for you and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to kiss you. I wanted to and I did. What happened the other day was a moment of weakness on my part. I let my feelings for you cloud my better judgment and now I realize that I may have crossed a line with you. I realize that all you want is my friendship and nothing more. I hope you can forgive me and I promise, it won't happen again. Your friendship really does mean the world to me and I would hate to push you away or lose you in my life because you are such an incredible person and a wonderful friend. _

_I know this doesn't change what happened or how I feel about you or even how you feel about all of it but I just wanted you to know…I meant it when I said I'd always be your friend, first and foremost, no matter what._

_-Naya_

Heather re-read the letter five times, taking in every word. She set the letter down on the end table next to her bed and stared at it for a moment. She moved to pick it up so she could read it again but decided to leave it. She adjusted the ring on her finger with her thumb as she turned to the bathroom to start getting ready for bed. She showered, brushed her teeth, washed her face and changed into shorts and a tank top. The letter ran through her head the whole time, over and over again. She practically had it memorized. She finally laid in bed, pulling the blanket over her and stared up at the ceiling lost in thought as she kept turning her ring around and around on her finger. A faint light from the glow of the moon shone through her second story bedroom window.

She had been exhausted when she walked in the house earlier but now she was wide-awake with nothing but questions running through her head.

Why had she freaked out when Naya kissed her? Heather had impulsively kissed her back. She wanted it too. But Naya was making her have all of these feelings that she was completely scared of having. They were new and confusing and different and Heather didn't have the first clue on how to deal with any of it.

_How did things start feeling so complicated? How does she all of sudden make me feel like this? How does her smile and her laugh make my stomach do flips? How does one simple touch make me feel all warm and fuzzy inside? When did it change? How did it change? Was it there all along and I just didn't know it? How come when she kissed me I felt like I was flying to the moon and why did I kiss her back? Why did I want it so much? Why did I enjoy kissing her so much? And how come now the only thing I want to do when I see her or think about her is kiss her again?_

The kiss they'd shared kept replaying in her head and she kept thinking about how it made her completely melt. She thought she shouldn't be feeling this way about her best friend, right? This wasn't normal, was it? Heather felt so different for liking the way Naya made her feel. She felt so different for wanting to kiss Naya again. And she felt so different for not being able to think of anything else but Naya. But Naya felt the same way, right? That's what she'd said in her letter. She wanted to kiss Heather too. It wasn't just a fluke.

Heather sat up in bed and turned to her bedside table. She turned the lamp on and re-read the letter. Naya had promised that she wouldn't kiss Heather again. As confusing as all of Heather's feelings were, she knew for certain that more than anything she wanted to kiss Naya again. She wanted to kiss her all the time. Kissing her made Heather's whole body feel like a rocket that would shoot off into outer space and at the same time it made her completely weak at the knees. She'd never felt that way about anything or anyone. The idea of that never happening again made something inside Heather snap.

She threw the blanket off and jumped out of bed. She rushed to her dresser and frantically changed into a pair of jeans, a tank top and a zip up hoodie. She grabbed her phone, checking the time as she rushed downstairs.

_2:39am_

It was late but Heather didn't care. She couldn't take it anymore. She couldn't ignore how she felt and not do anything about it. She couldn't avoid her anymore. She couldn't stay away from her anymore. She had to see her.

She quickly slipped on her converse shoes, which had been on the floor next to the front door, grabbed her keys from the dish on the table and left her house in the middle of the night.

* * *

I hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you'd like to, please leave a review :)


	8. A Single Kiss

**A/N:** As always, thank you for the reviews. The enthusiasm you all had for the last chapter was amazing, so I really felt the pressure to make this next chapter good for all you wonderful readers. Again, sorry for the wait. There's a lot that happens in this chapter and it's loaded with 12k+ words. So hopefully you'll enjoy the hell out of it. I think it's what a lot of you have been waiting for.

There are two songs used to soundtrack specific scenes in this chapter. The first one is "Everytime We Touch (slow mix)" by Cascada, which is meant to soundtrack the first part of this chapter, starting at "Knock-knock-knock-knock…." and all the way to the first major line break.

The second song is "Let Me Take You There" by Plain White Ts, which is meant to soundtrack the last part of the chapter, starting when Naya says, "Alright let's go," and all the way to the end of the chapter.

Here are the youtube addresses to the songs in the order in which they are meant to accompany the chapter. Just add the youtube site name to the beginning:

"Everytime We Touch" - watch?v=3DvWNgVPJo8

"Let Me Take You There" - watch?v=Xp-6GFFBVw8

******Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch.8 A Single Kiss**

Naya had been tossing and turning all night. She thought she was going insane. She wasn't the least bit tired. Her eyes didn't even feel heavy. They just stayed wide open and bore into the ceiling as she turned onto her back, drumming her fingers on her belly. The kiss, Heather running out, Heather avoiding her, the letter, all of it was driving her nuts.

_Was it too cheesy? The letter with the peanut butter and carrots? _

She hoped what she had written was okay, that it was the right thing to say.

_Was there really a right thing to say?_

She wondered what Heather's reaction would be once she read the letter. Hopefully she'd actually talk to Naya again instead of not returning all of her phone calls and text messages. The past few days had been like torture. That last day on set before the break, whenever Naya walked into a room, Heather would walk out. That stung. And then not having her around at all over the weekend, not even being able to talk to her. Naya missed the hell out of her. It was only a couple of days but she missed the hell out of her. And it hurt to think that Heather was deliberately staying away from her.

_What if things are never the same again? What if Heather never talks to me again? What if the only time we ever speak again or are even in the same room again is when we have scenes together? What if Heather doesn't want anything to do with me? What if I've completely lost her?_

Naya was jumping to wild conclusions and it made her sick to her stomach to even think about any of that. It was like someone clamped a wrench to the center of her gut and kept twisting it. She swung her arm out to grab the pillow next to her, slammed it down on her face and yelled into it.

Her voice was muffled through the pillow. "Aaahh!"

_**xxxxx**_

The drive to Naya's house was usually only about ten minutes, if that. But it was the middle of the night with no traffic and Heather was driving like a crazy person. She had no idea what she was going to say or what she was going to do once she got there. She just knew she had to get there. The adrenaline had been pumping through her body from the moment she jumped out of bed. This time the drive over to Naya's had only taken about six minutes, but the whole way over Heather could feel a little ball of fire building up inside her. It kept growing bigger and bigger, threatening to punch it's way out of her chest.

When she pulled into Naya's driveway she hastily threw the car into Park, turned the engine off and hurried out of the car, swiftly slamming the door shut behind her.

_**xxxxx**_

Naya was laying in bed, hugging the pillow to her chest. Pools of water started to form in her eyes. She wiped the forming tears away and took a few deep breaths.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock-knock, Ding-dong ding-dong ding-dong

Naya popped up from the bed and scrunched her eyebrows, looking at the clock on her bedside table.

_What? Who could possibly be here? It's almost 3 in the morning._

She got out of bed, still holding the pillow to her chest, and went to her bedroom window, which faced the front of the house. There was a small roof covering the front entrance porch area so she wouldn't be able to see who was at the door but at least she could see the driveway. Just in case it was some psychotic person who wanted to rob the place, she pulled back the curtain only a little, so she could remain inconspicuous while still peering out. When she looked out the window she involuntarily drew in a quick breath on a gasp and she could feel her heart skip a beat. It was the worst parking job she'd ever seen but it was unmistakable, that faded yellow bug sitting in the driveway.

_Heather?_

She whipped around and threw the pillow back on the bed as she rushed out of her room and down the stairs.

_**xxxxx**_

Heather was restless and standing in front of Naya's front door. Her leg was starting to bounce up and down and her fingers were wiggling and fidgeting uncontrollably. She had nothing but nervous, frantic, electric energy shooting through her body. The second she heard the door unlocking everything in her body became still.

Naya swung the door wide open, confused and anxious. "Heather, what are you doing here?"

With her eyes focused deep into Naya's from the second the door opened, Heather's breath caught in her throat and her mind went blank. She hadn't really thought of anything much further than just getting to Naya's house. She didn't have a plan. She didn't know what to say. But she knew what she wanted to do.

Heather propelled herself forward through the threshold of the doorway, grabbing hold of the door and swinging it shut behind her. In one heated and fluid motion, she swooped Naya into her arms, threading her hands around Naya's waist and back and pulling their bodies close before she crashed their lips together with a longing kiss. Their lips locked perfectly together, Heather enveloping Naya's upper lip while Naya automatically curled her own around Heather's bottom lip.

"Mmmm," Naya whimpered and hummed into Heather's mouth as their lips sealed together. Heather was kissing her as if it would save her life, as if it would save the world if everything were going up in flames. Naya was caught off guard by the sheer force with which Heather so forwardly embraced her and her body dipped backward slightly as Heather's kiss became deeper. She felt her heart swell and soar as a melting rush of warmth only the sun could provide burst through her whole body. She thought she might collapse or float away or both if it weren't for Heather holding her up. She slid her arms up Heather's and around her shoulders.

With their lips still locked together, Heather brought both of them upright again as Naya brought her hand up to cradle the back of Heather's neck.

Their lips slowly released and pulled away as Naya fluttered her eyes open. She was still trying to catch her breath and it took her a moment to find her voice. She spoke in a low and soft tone. "What was that for?"

Heather was still earnestly holding her close. "I want you to break your promise."

Of all the things to say after a kiss, Naya was not expecting Heather to say that. Her forehead crinkled as she tried to make the connection. "What?"

"Your letter. I want you to break your promise."

With the words of her letter coming back to mind, Naya made a breathy little laugh and smiled.

Heather moved her hands back so her fingers could gently hook around Naya's waist. "Because…"

Heather was silent for a moment as she worried her lip trying to think of what to say. Naya gave a small little nod, encouraging Heather to continue as she patiently listened.

Heather didn't quite know how to express everything she was feeling and her words came out in waves. "…when you kiss me…when I kiss you…it's like the most amazing feeling in the world and I just…I want you to kiss me all the time. I can't…" Heather drew in a deep breath and glanced down for a second, shaking her head back and forth before bringing her eyes back up to Naya's. "…I can't imagine something like that never happening again."

The corners of Naya's mouth curled upward in a smile that reached her eyes. She cupped her hands around Heather's face and took Heather's lips in with hers in a long and sensuous kiss followed by a series of sweet, short kisses.

The first of Naya's kisses made Heather's heart beat fast. She felt like she was flying and melting at the same time, like she could melt into a puddle and then turn into a rocket, shoot up in the air and burst like a firework. With the small and shorter kisses, every time Heather thought Naya was done and pulling away, Naya would just place another tender and gentle kiss on her lips. All of Naya's kisses were wet and soft and sweet. And Heather loved all the little sounds their lips made with each kiss.

After Naya gave the last of her kisses, she only pulled away a little. Curling her hands over Heather's shoulders, she closed her eyes and lightly pressed her forehead to Heather's. As her eye's closed a tear fell down her cheek.

Heather scrunched her nose with worry. "Are you crying?"

Naya smiled and let out another breathy little laugh. "You have no idea how much I've been hoping and wishing for…for you, for you to…"

Heather's scrunched face instantly turned into a warm smile and she pulled her head back a little. Naya sniffled as Heather brought her thumb up to gently wipe away the tear that had fallen down Naya's face.

Heather felt like she owed Naya some type of explanation for her recent strange behavior but she didn't know what to say or how to say it. Her words came out clipped and choppy. "I'm…I'm sorry I freaked out, and ran away, and went M.I.A. on you. I don't know why, it's just, the way…the way you make me feel, when I'm with you…it's…I…" Heather was getting frustrated with trying to explain herself and then figured that it shouldn't matter because right now they were together and she didn't want to be anywhere else. She spoke her next words as if she knew them to be an irrevocable truth. "I don't wanna stay away from you anymore. I can't. I just want to be with you."

Naya thought her heart couldn't swell anymore than it already had, but it did. A smile grew on her face as she leaned forward to place another gentle kiss on Heather's lips.

It made Heather smile as well until she felt a tinge of embarrassment. "I feel crazy for running over here in the middle of the night. I just…I couldn't help it."

Naya slid her hands down to hold Heather's, letting them hang down between them. "It's never crazy for you to come over here. No matter what time it is. I'm just happy you're here."

Heather's embarrassment washed away. Then she had a troubled thought that made her face drop with self-reproach. "Oh God, I didn't wake you up, did I? Cuz you have trouble sleeping and stuff and I—"

Naya gently shook her head from side to side. "You didn't wake me up. Actually, I couldn't sleep." She gave a bashful smile and then sniffled. "I was worrying that you'd never speak to me again or something."

Heather let out a little giggle and smiled back at her. "Well that's definitely not gonna happen."

Naya softly rubbed her thumb back and forth across the back of Heather's hand. "Why don't you stay over here tonight. I don't want you driving back so late."

Heather didn't want to go home in the first place. She couldn't think of anything better than spending more time with Naya, even if they were going to be asleep, if they could even sleep at all now, they would be together. Heather didn't want to be anywhere else.

Naya let one of Heather's hands go as she threaded her fingers through the other and led them toward the staircase. As Naya began climbing the stairs, Heather stopped behind her.

Naya turned around on the first step of the staircase to see Heather standing at the foot of the stairs and looking up at her. "What is it?"

Heather leaned up and forward on the balls of her feet and placed a single kiss on Naya's lips, smiling as she pulled away. "I just wanted to kiss you again. That's all."

Naya leaned forward reciprocating the same soft kiss Heather had just given her. "Come on. We should get some sleep. We have to be up in like 3 hours."

Heather changed into a pair of Naya's shorts and an old T-shirt before they crawled into bed, pulling the comfy duvet blanket over them. They lay in bed, on their sides and facing each other, their bodies just inches apart. They both closed their eyes and pretended to sleep and then giggled when they both caught each other not sleeping. Heather started giving Naya soft pecks and kisses with little laughs and smiles in between. Heather thought she'd never stop kissing her. She liked it too much.

After a while Naya started giggling at Heather's newfound zeal for kissing. Her enthusiasm left Naya more elated than she ever thought she could be from something so simple as a kiss. Though Naya was reluctant to do so, she knew she was going to have to be the responsible one and encourage the idea of at least attempting to get some sleep before both of them had to wake up for a long day.

Heather gave her one last sweet kiss before she attempted to sleep. She didn't realize how incredibly exhausted she actually was until she legitimately tried to sleep. Between a long day at the studio, hours of dancing, the adrenaline rush from when she left her house in the middle of the night, and everything that happened after that, it didn't take long for her eyes to become heavy and her body to fully relax into the bed.

Naya stayed awake until Heather had fallen asleep. Naya just gazed at her with contentment and wonder. She looked so tranquil and serene and innocent, so beautiful when she slept. There was a loose strand of blonde hair that fell across her closed eyes and Naya carefully tucked it behind Heather's ear. She inched her body a little closer to carefully place one last incredibly soft kiss on Heather's cheek, barely letting her lips touch her skin so she wouldn't wake her. Naya curled her arm to rest around Heather's waist before drifting off the sleep. She slept soundly and peacefully for the first time in a long time.

* * *

The next morning they both woke up late and had to rush out of the house to get to the Paramount Lot on time. Naya still couldn't believe what happened the night before, that Heather had run over to her house in the middle of the night just to kiss her, that on some level, Heather had feelings for Naya that were beyond friendship. Even though she thought Heather would never in a million years be attracted to her in that way, she still hoped for it. And she certainly never thought something like what happened the night before would actually happen. She was still on a high from it.

But she didn't know what it meant. She didn't know where things with them stood now. And she couldn't get a good gauge on how Heather was feeling about it or what she thought about it because they were too busy trying to rush out of the house. So Naya spent the whole drive over to the lot wondering what was going to happen next.

_So what did last night mean exactly? I mean no one kisses someone like that and it doesn't mean anything. But she said she wants to be with me and she definitely likes kissing me. But is that all she wants to do? Kissing? Does she want to try dating? Does she want to be like my Girlfriend girlfriend? Because I am totally on board with that. Wait, no, she probably doesn't know what the hell she wants. Okay, so maybe I should just play it by ear and take things slow. Nothing too forward. Just hang back and see what she does and just go with it._

And Naya did just that. The whole day on set Heather didn't give any hint or indication of what had happened the night before, so Naya reciprocated that behavior. The only major change was the fact that Heather wasn't avoiding Naya anymore. In fact she was doing the exact opposite. The girls were inseparable for the whole day. Heather would constantly dart to Naya's side once they were done shooting a scene and they were always together during downtime. They goofed off with the rest of the cast and made each other laugh. They were constantly at each other's side giggling about some joke or prank Heather thought of or fiddling with props or trying to steel Kevin's wheelchair. To anyone observing with an untrained eye it seemed as if nothing had changed in the slightest.

Normally Naya would've driven herself crazy overanalyzing the absence of any type of acknowledgement but she was still on an emotional high from the night before. There was also no shortage of affectionate and flirty little glances accompanied with coy smiles from Heather throughout the day. That alone was enough affirmation for Naya not to worry about a thing.

At the end of the shooting day Naya went back to her trailer after she dropped her wardrobe off. She used a makeup wipe and washed her face to get all her excess makeup off and started gathering her things. It had been a long day and she was ready to go home but she wanted to see Heather just to say 'bye' before she left the lot. Heather had been asked to go to the Tin Shed because Zach wanted an extra opinion on a dance routine he was working on with Harry, so Naya figured she'd gather all her things and meet up with Heather back at her trailer when she was done at the Tin Shed.

Naya was putting her notebook in the tote bag she'd taken to work that day when she heard someone clamoring up the metal steps of her trailer. She turned to see Heather hurrying in as if she'd ran there and she shut the door behind her.

"Hey," Naya smiled.

Heather turned to face Naya and took a second to catch her breath from running. She put her hands in her back pockets and let out a nervous little laugh before she slowly walked over to Naya, stopping just in front of her. "Hi," she said, her voice quiet and shy.

Naya slung her bag onto her shoulder and gestured toward the door. "You know you didn't have to shut it. I was about to come find you."

Heather turned at her waist to look back at the door. "Right." She twisted around again to face Naya and rocked forward on the balls of her feet, glancing down at Naya's lips as she tucked her own lips into her mouth and back out again. She glanced down at her feet as she rocked back onto her heels, the corner of her mouth curling up in a coy smile.

Naya found it was incredibly cute how slyly hesitant Heather was being and it made her smile. But she was a little curious as to why Heather was being so shy and hesitant. She furrowed her brow and tilted her head to the side. "Is there something wrong?"

Heather shook her head from side to side and stopped rocking back and forth on her feet. With her hands still in her back pockets she smiled bashfully once again and glanced down at her feet again. Naya couldn't help but smile whenever Heather did that because she looked so cute when she was happily nervous about something. She looked like she was in grade school about to give her first crush Valentine's Day card.

Still smiling, Heather looked back up at Naya and leaned forward to place a soft kiss on her lips. A wide smile instantly grew on Naya's face as Heather pulled away.

"It's just that I hadn't kissed you all day." Heather bounced up on her toes and lightly shrugged her shoulder. "That's all."

Naya giggled at how Heather had the uncanny ability to be so adorable about the simplest of things. Naya brought her hand to the back of Heather's arm and leaned in to return an equally soft and tender kiss.

As their lips parted Naya didn't pull all the way back and their faces remained just inches apart as Naya shifted her eyes to look into Heather's. "You can kiss me anytime you want," she whispered and placed another soft kiss on Heather's cheek as she slid her hand down Heather's arm to gently squeeze her hand before pulling away completely. Both girls were beaming as they walked out of the trailer.

* * *

Half the cast was in the choir room set waiting for the rest to be done in Hair and Makeup while the lighting crew set up. Chord was over by the piano doing his best Christopher Walken impression for Jenna and Amber while Kevin, Cory and Mark were hanging out over by the desk. They had figured out a way to have a three-person thumb war and were currently battling it out.

Naya was sitting in the corner of the top back row of seats and using the internet on her phone while she waited for Heather to get there once she was done in Hair and Makeup. It was the last day of shooting 'Night of Neglect' and the whole cast was scheduled to work only half a day. They only had one scene left, the episode's opening choir room scene, and then the whole cast was scheduled to attend an event that night before they went on a three week shooting hiatus. Naya was using her phone to look up different restaurants and clubs with live music, places she'd heard of but had never been to before. She was trying to get some good date ideas. Over the past week Naya found herself in new, uncharted territory with Heather and their friendship or relationship or whatever they were as of now. Naya wasn't really sure what to call it. But things had been going well, better than she'd hoped for. And with the hiatus coming up, she couldn't think of anything she wanted to do more than to take Heather out on a proper date.

That first day back on set after Heather's surprise, 'middle-of-the-night' visit was somewhat of a template for how things went for the remainder of shooting the episode. The girls were inseparable, constantly glancing at each other in between Takes and during scenes. There was an extra spring in Heather's step and a new twinkle in her eyes whenever she was with Naya. And Naya never thought she had ever smiled or laughed more often than when she was with Heather. Whenever they got a chance, the second they were ever left alone together Heather would weave her fingers through Naya's and hold her hand or one of them would smile and lean in for a quick kiss before they continued with their conversation or doing whatever it was they were supposed to be doing. They spent all their downtime on set together and any time left over after the shooting day was spent at each other's houses just hanging out and goofing off like they normally would, except there was a lot more kissing involved now.

However, the most consistent new development was that every night, like clockwork, when they were done with the workday and about to head home, Heather would sneak into Naya's trailer, shut the door behind her, and wrap Naya in her arms, kissing her as if she needed to make up for all the time they'd spent not kissing throughout the shooting day. Then they would gather their things and walk with each other to the parking lot, leaving each other with affectionate and flirty little smiles as they got in their respective cars to go home. Each night their kissing in the trailer would get progressively more heated.

Naya chuckled as she thought of the previous night when they'd unnecessarily spent an extra hour on the lot, lightly making out on the couch in Naya's trailer before they went home. Clothes never came off and hands lightly roamed but it was abundantly clear that Heather really enjoyed kissing. She couldn't get enough of it.

If anyone had asked Naya a week ago whether or not she'd be making out in her trailer with her best friend on a daily basis she would've thought the idea was a pipe dream. As of now they were taking things slow but Naya was over the moon with how things were going and didn't want to screw any of it up. She wanted to do things right with Heather and treat her the way she deserved to be treated. So although Naya wanted to, she never initiated anything further than kissing or lightly making out. Naya was incredibly wary of making sure Heather was completely comfortable with whatever they were doing. She knew Heather liked to do things at her own pace so Naya wasn't going to push anything until Heather was ready and comfortable with it. So if all Heather wanted to do for now was kiss and hold hands then Naya was more than happy to do just that.

Just then, Naya's phone buzzed with a text message from her younger sister, Nickayla.

_**You gotta watch this. It reminded me of the lady mom use to take us to. **_

Naya clicked on the attached youtube link and began watching a standup-comedy routine by Anjelah Johnson and her impression of an Asian employee at a nail salon.

Heather walked into the choir room set smiling as her eyes immediately darted over to the back left row of seats. She saw Naya doubled over in her seat and clutching her stomach in a hearty and full-bodied laugh as she held her phone in front of her. Heather had heard that laugh from thirty feet outside the room and knew exactly who it belonged to. It was one of Heather's favorite laughs to hear. Naya's normal, bubbly laugh was probably one of the cutest things Heather had ever seen or heard but Naya's deep and resonant laugh that seemed to burst out of the center of her body was somewhat rare. Heather had only made Naya laugh like that twice and she was proud of the fact that she had ever gotten her to laugh like that at all; once when they first met and another time when Heather had decided to act like a monkey while they were horsing around with a phone booth prop they found on the lot.

Walking into the choir room set, Heather would've wanted to go straight over to Naya and sit next to her. But hearing that laugh, Heather decided to hang back by the door for a moment as she gazed across the room, perfectly content with just watching Naya laugh.

Naya had just finished watching the video and could barely hold her phone in her hand anymore. She'd just had several minutes filled with pangs of laughter, the type of laughing where the muscles of her sides and belly hurt, and she was clutching her stomach as she tried to catch her breath. She was certain that no one would find the stand-up routine quite as hilarious as her and Nickayla because it was a dead-on accurate impression of the Asian woman that used to do their nails when Naya was a teenager. Naya and her sister would try doing impressions of the woman but they never turned out as accurate as what Naya had just seen. She was positive the comedienne was doing an impression of the exact same woman and because the routine was connected to a childhood memory of Naya's she found it to be ten times funnier than any normal viewer probably would have.

She caught her breath and wiped at a tear that had formed at the corner of her eye from laughing so hard before she typed back a response to her younger sister.

_**Omg, soooo true. She probably went to the same lady. I think her name was even Tammy. LMFAO! Good find sis. You gotta show that to mom.**_

Just then, Heather sat down in the seat next to her, pulling the seat as close as possible to Naya's. "Are you looking up 'best of reality show wtf moments' again?" She smiled and threaded her arm between Naya's torso and arm so she could clasp their hands together with their fingers entwined.

A warm smile appeared on Naya's face as she glanced down at their hands. It was the first time Heather had held her hand like that in a public setting, or at least semi-public. They'd held hands before, more times than she could count, but always in the way that friends hold hands. They'd never held hands in public the way a couple would, with their fingers interlocked. Sure they were on set and there weren't a whole lot of people in the room, most of them being their close friends, and Naya wasn't sure if anyone could even see their hands because of the chairs in front of them blocking the view, but knowing that Heather felt comfortable enough to even make the gesture…it made her feel special.

Naya glanced over to her phone in her other hand. "No," she laughed softly as she looked back at Heather. "It's this really funny video my sister sent me. You gotta see this." Before Naya played the video she proceeded to explain a little bit about the Asian lady her sister and her used to get their nails done with and the impressions they always tried to do.

Another thing Heather really liked about Naya was how close she was with her family and especially her younger siblings. She thought Naya was probably the greatest big sister in the world. She was so proud of her brother and sister and always got so excited about Nickayla's photo shoots and Mychal's football career. She never missed a birthday or a football game and Nickayla always called her about relationship advice or to talk about fashion or music or really just anything. She didn't talk with her brother as often but they usually skyped every once in a while just to catch up and from the few conversations Heather had witnessed, they had the funniest banter with each other, their own brand of humor. She wasn't just a big sister to her siblings but a real friend.

Heather kind of wished she had that type of relationship with her two sisters but they were so much older than her that by the time Heather had grown up enough to have anything in common with them they were well into their mid and late twenties with a whole new set of interests that Heather couldn't quite relate to yet. They also didn't understand Heather's humor sometimes so joking with them proved to be quite difficult. Heather always felt like the oddball out in her family, like she didn't quite fit in. There wasn't any social or emotional distance like that with Naya and her siblings, so Heather always got a little excited whenever Naya talked so endearingly about them or shared some of her childhood memories with them. It made Heather feel like she was getting a glimpse into what a healthy and loving sibling relationship actually looks like.

Just as Naya clicked on the video link to play the clip on her phone, Heather smiled and brought her head down to rest on Naya's shoulder. It always surprised Naya just how special Heather could make her feel with the simplest thing in the world, like holding her hand or resting her head on her shoulder or a quick but tender kiss. Naya felt so close and connected to her in those little moments and they were happening much more frequently as of late.

Naya held the phone in her lap as they watched the video clip. Both of them were chuckling throughout the video. Naya loved feeling Heather laugh against her with their bodies so close together and their arms interlocked and Heather's head practically bouncing on Naya's shoulder as she chuckled. Naya didn't even care about watching the video clip anymore. She just loved feeling Heather so close to her in that moment.

"HeMo!" Cory called out from the other side of the room.

Heather jumped, quickly letting go of Naya's hand and sitting upright as she used her foot to shove her seat away from Naya's. "What? Huh?" She frantically started grabbing at a few stray pieces of blonde hair in front of her face, tucking and re-tucking them behind her ears. Once she noticed that she'd re-tucked the same strand of hair behind her ear three times she abruptly stopped her hands and let them fall to her lap. She turned her attention to Cory and transferred all her startled energy to her foot, which began rhythmically tapping along the metal leg of the chair. "Um, wh-, what'd you say?"

Cory raised his eyebrow in a puzzled expression. "Uh, we just wanted to see if you'd judge a thumb war tie-breaker for us."

"Sure," Heather quickly replied. She stood up without glancing back at Naya and ran her fingers behind her ear yet again as she walked down the steps and over to the boys standing in a circle by the desk.

Naya sat in her seat, perplexed and thwarted by the harsh and abrupt change in Heather's demeanor as the video clip on her phone ended.

* * *

It was early afternoon and Naya was back in her trailer gathering her things so she could go home. The shooting day had ended but the cast had to get ready for the event they were scheduled to attend that night. It was a benefit party Fox's marketing team had arranged for them to attend. All the profits from food and beverage were arranged to benefit various music education programs in underprivileged schools and attendees could make donations if they wished. There was also going to be a small press corps there so it was a good opportunity to promote Glee and it's cast as supporters of music education and the arts.

Naya expected she'd be getting a call from Derek sometime soon. Derek was her manager and handled a lot of Naya's marketing image and PR. He'd probably be calling her within the hour to confirm that she'd be at her house by the time the hired car service was scheduled to arrive and re-discuss a few material image details that he had undoubtedly already talked to her stylist about. He was also probably going to give her some last minute reminders on what to say when she fielded questions from the press and certain people she needed to glad hand and network with that night at the party. Naya had all of this down to an art. She pretty much knew exactly what Derek would instruct her to do. He might be a bit overbearing and somewhat of a workaholic but he was thorough and good at his job. She trusted him with her career image and he was a master when it came to marketing and PR so she always listened to what he said and took his guidelines and advice into heavy consideration.

Since it was the end of the shooting day Naya was also expecting a certain someone to show up in her trailer any minute. Even though Naya still felt a little unsettled about what happened earlier in the choir room set when Heather all of a sudden became alarmingly jumpy and nervous, it still made Naya smile to think that Heather would be showing up soon and they could be alone together.

As if on cue, Naya heard the light 'tinging' sound of the metal stairs as Heather walked up them and into the trailer, carefully shutting the door behind her.

"Hey." Naya was smiling as she turned to walk toward the door where Heather was but she stopped halfway there, her face dropping with worry.

"Hi," Heather said quietly as if she were intimidated by something. She was standing by the doorway with her hands shoved in the front pockets of her jeans, her eyes shifted downward and darting all over the ground just in front of her feet.

Naya remained standing where she was so she could give Heather her space. Heather looked so timid and nervous that Naya remained somewhat cautious. She didn't want to make Heather feel uncomfortable and possibly scare her anymore than she already seemed, especially after how great the past week had been going.

"What's –" Naya's voice caught in her throat for second and she gulped. She spoke softly. "What's wrong?"

Heather still had her eyes toward the ground and shuffled her feet, swiping at the floor in front of her with the tip of her foot.

Naya was anxious for Heather's response but waited patiently so Heather didn't feel pressured.

Heather took one more faint swipe with her foot at the floor in front of her before the tension in her body slightly relaxed. She dug her hands deeper into her pockets before she brought her head up. She made brief eye contact with Naya, seeing her deep brown eyes, so caring and concerned, before Heather darted her eyes to the side. "You're a—" Heather's voice was faint and cracked. "You're a…girl," she spoke timidly and emphasized the last word, nodding her head forward as if it were heavy like a bowling ball.

Naya curled the corner of her mouth up in a faint smile. She animatedly tugged the top of her shirt forward and looked down at her boobs. Then she tugged the top of her jeans forward peering down into her pants. She nodded her head. "Yep." Then she gave a little laugh. "Last time I checked."

That got Heather to smile a little as more of the tension left her body. She shrugged her shoulder up. "And…I'm a girl."

Naya smirked. "And a very hot one at that."

Heather smiled and laughed a little more. She finally felt more comfortable and began walking over to Naya. "Well, I mean, is it…weird?" Heather shook her head and squinted her eyes. "Wait, no, not weird. Weird isn't the right word." Heather started wringing her hands together as she became frustrated with trying to express herself. "Crap, this isn't coming out right. I don't know how to talk about this."

The light bulb in Naya's head clicked on. Of course. Heather had never done any of the things her and Naya had been doing for the past week. Heather had never been with a girl or showed any type of outward expression that she was attracted to a girl. This was all new for her. So of course she might have a few apprehensive feelings about it.

Naya remembered it had been a bit of a struggle to accept her own sexuality in high school when she had first figured out that she was attracted to both men and women. In fact it was still somewhat of a struggle for her on a few different levels. But Naya had gone through her own process with that and was fortunate enough to have the support and encouragement she needed to become comfortable and confident with it in her own time. Naya felt a little guilty. She had been so overjoyed at Heather's new zeal to explore something beyond friendship that it blinded her in anticipating that something like this might come up. She felt that she probably should've been much more sensitive to the idea that this was something that was completely foreign to Heather.

"Hmm, okay." Naya held out her hand for Heather to take and tilted her head toward the couch, indicating that they should sit down. "Well why don't we just sit and talk for a bit. You can say whatever you want to say. It doesn't matter how it comes out. I'll just listen."

Heather was hesitant at first but placed her hand in Naya's and they walked over to the couch. They sat facing each other and Naya held Heather's hand as she patiently waited for anything Heather wanted to say.

Heather smiled as she looked down at Naya's thumb, which she was soothingly rubbing back and forth across the back of Heather's hand. "That feels really nice."

Naya smiled. "I'm glad you like it."

Heather took a deep breath before she began expressing any thought that came to mind. "So, does this…I mean all the stuff we've been doing…I…I….Crap! I dunno. I'm bad at this."

"Bad at what, exactly?" Naya wasn't sure if Heather was referring to talking about her feelings or everything that she'd done with Naya in the past week. Because she definitely was not bad at the latter, but Naya wanted to be sure about what Heather was saying.

"I don't know. Talking about stuff that I'm, like, nervous about, or don't really know anything about. I don't know where to start."

"Okay, let me ask you a question."

Heather nodded her head in agreement and Naya shifted in her seat to get a little more comfortable. "Okay, so you like kissing me, right?"

Heather nodded her head up and down. "Definitely. I…I really like kissing you. It's like the craziest most awesome feeling in the world. And you're really good at it. And I really like when you hold my hand too."

Naya fluttered her eyes down with a self-effacing smile for second and brought her head up again as she cleared her throat. "And do you like being with me and kissing me because I'm a girl?"

"I dunno. I mean…" Heather took a moment to try and grab hold of at least one organized or coherent thought in her head but it was no use. Her next words came cascading out like a waterfall with no way to stop. "I like kissing you because you're you. You're gorgeous and smart and funny and seriously like the most kind hearted person I've ever met and I really like the way you laugh, especially at some of the weird stuff I do, and your smile makes me smile. And then sometimes the things you do, even if it's something small, like the way you raise your eyebrow when you're intrigued about something, it's such a major turn on. And I really like the way you dance and I could listen to you sing all day and never get tired of it. Your voice is like seriously the sexiest thing in the world to me, especially when you whisper. And I think you look insanely hot when you're wearing your glasses. And then there's the stuff that you do that's just, like, really cute, like sometimes you do this thing with your lip. You curl it when you're concentrating really hard on something or like when you flutter your eyes and then smile when you get all embarrassed about a compliment or when you tilt your head to the side whenever you're genuinely interested in something. I just…" Heather trailed off. She felt like she'd gone overboard with expressing herself. She tried to find a way to put a cap on the whole thing. "…I just, I really like you. And I like you because you're…well…you!"

Heather brought her hand up to cradle her forehead. Her nervous word-vomit had taken over and she felt like she was making a complete fool of herself saying all that stuff to Naya. Her heart was racing and it felt like it was beating out of her chest.

Naya's heart had started to beat super fast somewhere around the part where Heather had said she really liked her laugh and her smile. And her eyes began to flutter as she smiled to herself somewhere around the part where Heather was talking about all the things Naya did that turned her on. Then Heather had mentioned the whole eye fluttering thing and Naya stopped, tucking her lips into her mouth instead as she listened attentively to the rest of what Heather was saying. By the time Heather was done, a tear had formed at the corner of Naya's eye. She wiped it away with the back of her finger. Then she reached for Heather's hand to gently take it away from her face and hold both her hands in the small space between them.

Heather brought her eyes up to Naya's and Naya sniffled before she tentatively spoke. "Would it be okay if I…if I kissed you right now?"

Heather nodded because she couldn't think of anything else she wanted after everything she had just said.

Naya cupped her hands around Heather's face and leaned in with a kiss that seemed to travel straight from her heart to the edge of her lips as they sealed with Heather's. She pulled back slightly to look into Heather's blue eyes and she saw that sparkle return, that sparkle that she loved so much. "That is probably the sweetest thing anyone has ever said to me."

Heather gently wrapped her hands around Naya's wrists. As she pulled Naya's hands away she held them with her own and let them drop between them. Heather shrugged and curled the corner of her mouth up. "Well it's the truth. It's just how I feel whenever I'm with you, or thinking about you."

Naya smiled again as she brought Heather's hand up to place a soft kiss on the knuckles of her fingers.

It made Heather smile as well before her face fell with worry and apprehension again. She looked down at their hands and furrowed her brow. "But does this…" Heather lightly raised her hand, which held Naya's. "…all the stuff we've been doing all week…all the stuff I just said and all the stuff I wanna do…all these feelings…does that make me…gay…like, am I a lesbian now?" She brought her head up to see Naya's reaction and then quickly darted her eyes away and down again. "I mean there's nothing wrong with it, I just never really considered it for myself before."

Heather sighed like she might be done talking. So Naya opened her mouth to say something but Heather cut her off as she brought her head up with a burst of energy, able to speak with more gusto now, and continued to vent all of her thoughts and feelings. "I mean, when did a simple word become so scary? I've done some crazy stuff before, stuff that should probably be illegal or maybe get me committed or something but none of that seems as scary as defining myself to the rest of the world as something other than straight. And like, when I'm alone with you I'm fine because it's just us and nothing else really gets in the way but then like today, when I was holding your hand and Cory called me over. I freaked because I thought someone had seen me holding your hand like that and I felt like I just got caught doing something I shouldn't be doing." Heather hung her head down like she had just experienced a major defeat and tears started forming in her eyes. Her fingers started fidgeting in Naya's hands and she began to worry her lip.

With a gentle touch Naya repositioned her hands around Heather's so she could lightly squeeze them and she bent her head down to try and get Heather's full attention with her eyes. "Hey, hey, look at me." Heather sniffled and looked up. Naya had nothing but care and conviction in her eyes as she held the full attention of Heather's tearing blue ones. "You don't have to define yourself by what the rest of the world says. You just are who you are. _You_ define yourself, on your own terms and in your own way. And what you and me do together is between us. It's nobody else's businesses. You don't have to explain yourself to anyone."

Heather bent her head to wipe her eye on her sleeve and then nodded up and down, reassured by Naya's words. She sniffled again before she spoke, her voice blotchy and cracking. "I guess sometimes, like, what happened today, I just feel like all of a sudden I have this Scarlet Letter tattooed on my forehead and everyone can see it. Like I'm not me anymore because the only thing anyone can see is the tattoo on my forehead."

Naya shook her head from side to side before she spoke with same care and conviction as before. "No one can sum you up in just one word because there are a million different things that make up who you are. You're still Heather. Always have been, always will be. You're still you. You're still a great dancer and you're still funny and quirky and adorable. And you still have the same adventurous and carefree spirit you've always had and you still have the same amazing heart that loves to make people laugh. You have all the same hopes and dreams and ambitions and memories and experiences and everything that makes you the unique and incredible person you are. The only thing that's changed is that you found out something about yourself that you didn't think was there…like finding buried treasure. So now you get to go on this new, exciting adventure with all these new experiences while you figure out what you want to do with it."

Heather smiled bigger this time, with Naya's words sinking into her consciousness. She nodded her head up and down again, "Okay," and felt a lot of the tension lift from her body. Naya always had a knack for making Heather feel stronger than she ever thought she was. Naya smiled back and let go of Heather's hand so she could bring her thumb up to Heather's cheek and wiped away a tear that had fallen.

Heather started to reposition herself so she could sit back into the couch and Naya did the same as she extended her left arm out to wrap around the back of Heather's shoulders. As they sunk back in the couch Heather nuzzled her head into Naya's shoulder. Naya held Heather's hand in her lap while her left arm was wrapped behind Heather and her fingers traced soothing patterns along the skin of Heather's arm.

Heather began to laugh. "Buried treasure huh?"

Naya affectionately looked down at Heather as she could feel her head lightly bouncing with laughter on Naya's shoulder. "Uh huh. Think of it like an extra gift you forgot to open on Christmas morning."

"So does that mean that _you're_ kinda like my buried treasure? Since you're the person I'm doing all this new stuff with? I mean, do I get to call you my pirate booty or something now?"

Naya started cracking up and it made Heather laugh even more. Leave it to Heather to be able to turn anything into a lighthearted joke.

* * *

That night the whole cast was stylishly dressed and went to the swanky top floor restaurant and club of an upscale hotel in Hollywood. There was a small line of press interviews each of them went through and pictures were taken to note their fashion sense and popularity status of being the stars of a hit primetime show. The restaurant and club was packed with various artists, industry people and celebrities. The lighting was dim, the DJ kept the music hot, everyone had a cocktail in hand and the thumping base emanating from the club wasn't easy to ignore.

Heather was standing over by the bar struggling to pay attention to whatever the hell this guy she'd just met was talking about, not that she really cared too much for the conversation.

_This guy is a total douche-nozzle. How did I even get roped into talking to him?_

From what Heather could tell he seemed like the standard Hollywood type; shallow, egotistical, self-centered, pretentious, all talk and no substance.

_I swear, if this guy looks down at my boobs one more time…What? There! He did it again. My eyes are up here, asshole!_

Sometimes Heather hated coming to these things. It was fun getting all dressed up and going to fancy hotels for events, not that this was a formal event, but getting all dressed up and having all her friends from the cast there was the fun part. It was dealing with the whole dog and pony show and all the industry people that she didn't like. Not all of them were bad but a lot of them were like this guy at the bar who just seemed really fake and out for himself. A lot of these events were more of a 'see and be seen' kind of nature. So almost everyone was flaunting their fake industry persona so they could glad hand and schmooze with people and network to try and make the appropriate connections to further their careers in the entertainment industry. Heather wasn't good at that type of stuff to begin with and she didn't like playing that game. At this point in the night she was getting tired of it and wanted to leave but she'd only been there for about an hour and a half and had no form of transportation because a hired car service had dropped her off at the hotel.

She especially didn't like doing all the interviews beforehand. She always got so nervous when the interviewers started asking her questions. Thank God Naya had gotten there before Heather. When Heather arrived, Naya left her place in the interview line and made her way over to Heather to give her a hug, making it look like the most friendly thing in the world as the bright flashbulbs fired off so the photographers could capture the moment. What the photographers didn't see was that when both girls leaned in for the hug Naya had linked her pinky with Heather's, their bodies blocking the photographers' view of the small gesture. Once their pinkies were linked both girls automatically twisted their hands up to press the pads of their thumbs together. Naya had her head on the side of Heather's face where the photographers couldn't see and she quickly whispered into Heather's ear, _"Don't worry. Just be yourself. You're gonna be fine."_ That small gesture had filled Heather with the confidence she needed to not be so nervous during the interviews.

Heather didn't know what she would do without Naya. She was like Heather's rock, a constant pillar of support in Heather's life. She felt like Naya had been doing a lot of that type of stuff lately. Heather thought she should probably do something really special for Naya, not just because she had constantly lifted Heather whenever she felt like she was falling from grace but because Heather wanted to make her feel special. She deserved to feel special all the time, even for no reason, and Heather wanted to be the one to do it.

Heather was wearing the ring Naya had given her for her birthday and she started using her thumb to fiddle with it as it rested on her finger. She was getting tired of trying to be polite to this guy and straining to be present in the conversation. She really just wanted to find Naya, or at least someone from the cast. Naya had a few people she had to talk to and be charming with tonight. Something about making good connections that might help her land the potential record deal she wanted. Heather scanned the room to see if she could spot her, even though she knew Naya probably wouldn't be able to tear herself away from networking for a while. Heather just wanted to be able to see her.

Just then, Heather felt a hand placed gently on the small of her back and all of a sudden Naya was standing right next to her. They exchanged glances and small smiles with each other.

The guy Heather had been talking to shifted his attention to Naya. "Well aren't I lucky? Two gorgeous women from a hit TV show want my company. I guess it's just that magnetic quality I have."

Naya raised her eyebrows and politely smiled. "I'll bet it is."

A smug smile appeared on the guy's face, like he was overly satisfied with himself. "Let me buy you ladies a drink." He turned to the bartender to order.

Once the guy had turned around, Naya leaned in to whisper in Heather's ear. "Do you wanna get outta here?"

Heather vehemently shook her head up and down.

"Okay, let's get you away from this asshat."

The guy turned back from the bartender and began his attempt at smooth talking his way into getting himself laid with both Naya and Heather. He seemed fully confident that his cheesy phrases and pick up lines would actually work. Luckily Naya was good at deflecting them in a way that was so artfully cunning that the guy didn't seem to notice that he was being repeatedly shot down. Heather tried to hold in her laughter as she watched this guy trying to charm the pants off of them and failing miserably. Once their drink orders arrived, Naya pointed over the guy's shoulder saying that she'd spotted someone that her and Heather needed to go talk to. They swiftly took their drinks and left the bar. The guy didn't even have a moment to question why they'd left his 'magnetic' company, not that he cared. He'd probably just set his sights on trying to charm some other Hollywood starlet.

"Gimme your drink." Naya said as her and Heather began walking toward the booths at the edge of the room stopping at the small sidebar toward the back.

Heather handed her drink to Naya and she set both of their drinks on the bar while signaling the bartender over. "Can we get something different? Two Grey Goose and Sprites?" The bartender nodded and took the two drinks off the counter before he turned around to make them their new drinks.

Heather had been smiling and looking at Naya the whole time. If Naya's intention had been to impress and amuse Heather then she certainly had.

Naya was leaning her forearms up against the edge of the counter and playfully squishing her lips out as she watched the bartender make their drinks. Naya felt Heather's eye's on her and curiously turned her attention toward Heather. "What?...We weren't gonna have those drinks. I don't trust that guy. He could've put something in them. Plus he didn't ask what we wanted. I don't even know what those drinks were."

Heather broke into a small laugh and her smile grew wider as she continued looking on at Naya in adoration. "You know you look really pretty tonight?"

Naya fluttered her eyes down as the corners of her lips curled up before looking back up at Heather. A warm and genuine smile crept across her face as she winked at her. "Right back at ya."

They got their drinks from the bartender and headed over to a booth where Darren and Jenna were sitting and talking to a co-founder of one of the various music education charities the party was meant to benefit.

Before Heather sat down Naya took her hand and gave it a light squeeze. "Okay, I have to go make a quick phone call and say 'bye' to a couple of people. I'll come find you when I'm done and we'll get out of here."

Heather smiled and nodded as Naya gave her hand another light squeeze before she turned around to weave her way through the crowd of people and out of sight.

Heather spent the next twenty minutes sitting at the booth, sipping her drink as she made light conversation. Luckily Darren was a good conversationalist and could talk enough for five people so he dominated most of the conversation with the charity co-founder. Heather made a few jokes here and there that had everyone at the table laughing and in good spirits and she gave her opinion on the structure and importance of various art programs in schools when the topic came up but she was perfectly content with just listening for most of the conversation. Every few minutes she would scan what she could see of the room to see if she could spot Naya. She was anxious to get out of there and possibly spend some time alone with Naya for the rest of the night. She didn't know how Naya was planning to get the two of them out of there, especially since they didn't have a car, but she was sure Naya had something up her sleeve.

Darren was just ending a story on one of his favorite music teachers in high school when Naya walked up to the table.

The charity co-founder gave a warm smile to Naya as she walked up. "Ms. Rivera, have I told you that you look quite lovely tonight? I hope you're having a good time."

"Yes, thank you Mr. Cooper. This turned out to be quite an event."

"I'd say it's turned out to be quite successful. I wanted to thank you again for your donation. It was very kind of you and the foundation is very appreciative of your philanthropy." He smiled and stretched his hand out to shake Naya's.

"My pleasure." Naya shook his hand and smiled back. When she was done she placed her hand at the back of Heather's shoulder. "Now if you'll excuse me, can I steal her away for a moment?"

"Of course, although I think I'll sorely miss your humor." He smiled at Heather as she got up from the table.

"Thank you. It was really nice meeting you." Heather graciously accepted his compliment and shook his hand before Naya and her left the table. Naya held Heather's hand and walked in front of her so they wouldn't get separated as they made their way through the crowd of people and toward the back corner of the room.

When they broke from the crowd Naya was still holding Heather's hand and Heather could a see a solid black door tucked away in the corner only a few feet away.

Naya turned to her as they briskly walked toward the door. "You ready?"

Heather shook her head up and down. "Yep! Definitely. Where are we going?"

"It's a surprise." Naya smirked.

Heather giggled. She loved surprises.

"Alright let's go." Naya held Heather's hand a little tighter as she swung the black door open and pulled them into a small white corridor with a staircase at the end of it.

Heather felt like everything was in slow motion as Naya led them down the corridor and down twenty flights of stairs. Both of them were smiling and giggling uncontrollably the whole way down. When they got to the bottom of the staircase they burst through another door, which opened to the ground floor parking garage of the hotel. Parked just in front of them was a sleek 1968 blue Plymouth Barracuda with the windows down and a young, red-haired woman leaning up against the driver side door with the keys dangling in her hand.

"There you are!" the woman said as she saw them enter the garage.

"Sorry, I hope you weren't waiting long." Naya apologized as they walked up to the car.

"Whoa!" Heather was pleasantly surprised.

Naya smiled at Heather and let go of her hand. "Get in." She gestured toward the passenger side of the car.

Heather giddily skipped over to the passenger side of the car and slipped into the front seat.

The red-haired woman tossed the keys up in the air towards Naya and she caught them with one hand as she approached the car. "I gotta have it back by two and not a scratch on it, Rivera. I know where you live."

Naya smiled and gave the woman a hug. "Thanks, Bre. You're an angel. I owe you one."

"Yeah, yeah. Have fun." Bre unassumingly brushed off the comment and smiled as Naya got in the car. "And nothing illegal. I'm not bailing your ass out of a party and jail tonight."

Naya smiled and playfully rolled her eyes. "Wouldn't dream of it." She turned the car on and the engine roared to life. "Thanks again, Bre." Naya shifted the car into drive and drove out the back entrance of the parking garage.

Heather was bouncing in her seat as she marveled at the classic and nostalgic interior of the car. "So how'd you pull this off?"

"I use to take nannying gigs with some of the ritzier guests at that hotel so I know some of the employees. Bre's really cool. We're just borrowing her car for a couple hours."

"Awesome!" Heather was giddy as a schoolgirl. "So where are we going?"

Naya smirked. "I told you. It's a surprise."

"Okay, well can we stop for food first?"

"We can definitely make that happen. How's 'In-N-Out' sound?"

"You read my mind."

Naya smiled as she placed one hand on the steering wheel and reached over to hold Heather's hand with the other. The 'In-N-Out' burger on Sunset was the closest one but it was always so busy and packed. The whole point of what Naya wanted to do was to get Heather and her away to a quiet place where no one was around so they could just be alone together, so Heather didn't have to worry about how she was around Naya, fearing that other people might be judging her. Naya wanted to get them to a place where they could just be, and she had the perfect place in mind.

They went through the drive-thru at a more non-descript 'In-N-Out' location, ordering two burgers and some fries for them to split. After that, Naya drove toward the 405 and hopped on the highway going North, driving away from the city. Surprisingly there wasn't too much traffic and Heather gazed out the window just watching the lights of the overhanging street lamps zip by as Naya drove in the fast lane.

Naya knew the exit she wanted to take off the higway was coming up soon and the name of it would be a dead give away to Heather. She didn't want Heather to know where they were going until they got there.

Naya patted Heather's hand and Heather turned her attention away from the window. "Close your eyes."

"What?"

"Come on, please." Naya interlocked her fingers with Heather's as she held her hand to rest on Heather's knee. "I really want this to be a surprise and if you see where we're going it'll give it away."

Heather smirked. "You're not taking me to some random place out in the woods to like murder me or something, like in those creepy killer movies, right?" She joked.

Naya laughed. "No, definitely not. Just close your eyes. Trust me."

A warm and affectionate smile crossed Heather's face. Of course she trusted Naya. She trusted Naya with just about anything. Heather closed her eyes as she sat back in the seat.

"And no peaking," Naya squeezed her hand a little.

"I won't peak. I promise." Heather squeezed back.

Heather thought it was interesting how different it felt to be in a moving car with her eyes closed. She could feel the soft vibration of the engine on the ground by her feet. She could feel the slight sway of the car as it switched lanes and then slowed down. They were off the highway now and it felt like they were driving on a normal street for a while except the car had slowed down considerably. Then Heather could feel the smooth movements of the car as it hugged the road on an incline in what felt like tight hairpin turns or like they were winding their way up a mountain or a canyon. Heather knew Naya was a really good driver but at night with a road that felt as curvy and winding as this and only one hand on the steering wheel, because Naya held Heather's hand the whole time, she must've known this road really well or at least wasn't afraid about driving on it.

After a while they finally turned off the winding road and onto one that was a little more even. They were only on this road for maybe another minute or so. They banked a few more curves and then the car started to slow down. They drove over a threshold in the road that made the car dip a little and come up again onto a bumpy and inconsistent surface. The car was moving really slow, almost idling, as it bounced up and down with the inconsistency of the road surface. Then Naya stopped the car and put it in Park, shutting off the engine.

"Don't open your eyes yet. Not until I tell you, okay?"

Heather nodded her head and kept her eyes closed.

"Okay. Just hold on a sec."

Naya let go of her hand and she heard Naya's door open and close. Heather unbuckled her seat belt and let her hands rest in her lap. She was so excited about this surprise that she couldn't stop her knees from bouncing up and down. Then she could hear the muffled scattering noise of dirt and small rocks as Naya hurried her way around the front of the car and over to Heather's side. Naya opened Heather's passenger side door and took her hands to help her out of the car. Heather swung her legs out and stood on what felt like dirt and rocks. Naya took one of Heather's hands to guide her out and away from the car. Heather could feel a chilling wind hit her face and she knew they were up somewhere high.

Naya guided her out for a few more paces and stopped. Heather could feel Naya's hand reposition itself in hers and she heard the dirt kicking around Naya's feet as she moved to be standing behind Heather. She could feel Naya's body press up against her back as Naya slid her hands and arms over Heather's to interlock their fingers and comfortingly wrap her arms around Heather's torso. It wasn't until then that Heather noticed the ground behind her must've been a little more elevated than where she was standing because Naya was a little shorter than Heather but it felt like Naya was actually a little taller than Heather at the moment. She felt Naya easily place her chin to rest on Heather's shoulder from behind.

Naya gave one last small squeeze on Heather's hands and arms and whispered into Heather's ear. "Okay…Open."

Heather opened her eyes to see a sweeping and stunningly breathtaking view of the Los Angeles skyline. There were so many bright twinkling city lights dotting everything all the way out to the horizon. She could see the lights of office windows as they collectively made the shapes of tall buildings that rose from the city. She could see the lights from the tops of the skyscrapers and lights from people's houses. She could see the streetlamps that outlined all the major roads. And she could see the bright zooming white and red lights of cars on the 405. All the light emanating from the city glowed up into the sky in a rounded and semi-circular shape, like it was it's own setting sun, until it faded into the dark night sky.

The view quite literally took Heather's breath away and she gasped. "Wow…it's beautiful."

Naya was still standing behind Heather with her arms wrapped around her but she wasn't looking out at the view. She had her head turned so that she was looking at Heather. She spoke softly and smiled. "Yes, it is."

Heather turned her head away from the view and looked at Naya as a smile crept across her face. Their eyes caught each other in a gaze. Naya could see the twinkle of the city lights in Heather's blue sparkling eyes and Heather could see the same in Naya's deep brown eyes. Naya hugged her arms a little tighter around Heather. They both leaned in and sealed their lips together in what Heather felt to be the most heart melting and romantic kiss she'd ever had.

* * *

I really hope you all enjoyed this one and I hope the irony in the title of this chapter isn't lost on you all. I don't think it is. You all are smart readers. Consider this chapter the transition out of Act I and into Act II of the story.

If you enjoyed this chapter or have any questions, comments, or concerns please leave a review :)


	9. Ready, Steady, Stop

**A/N:** I swear it seems like everything in the world was keeping me from updating this but it's finally here. Yay! Just a couple things before we get started.

First of all, thank you sooo much for the reviews on the last chapter. Seriously, some of them made me tear up a bit. I'm just really happy that you all are enjoying this story.

Second, updates may be coming at a slower pace over the next month (praying that no other major time consuming things happen so it's not as long as this last update). But right now I'm in the process of moving 3,000 miles across the country so my time has become strained but I'm writing when I can because I hate making you all wait, and I'm really going to push to get a chapter up every week to a week and half.

And lastly, in light of the whole purging situation, I will continue with this story on this website but in the event that it gets taken down I will transfer it to an LJ account, which I will post the link to on my tumblr. So just be aware of that possibility.

Okay, on to the next installment. Happy Reading :)

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch. 9 Ready, Steady, Stop**

Heather loved the way Naya's lips felt on hers, like soft pillows. And she would do this thing with her tongue. It was sort of a flick, but not so abrasive, more like a gentle stroke and then it would turn into this slow, sensual caress. Heather loved when she did that. It drove her senses wild. Somehow, the way Naya kissed her, it reminded Heather of how you would eat a chocolate covered strawberry without actually biting into it.

And Heather had found a new obsession with running her hands all over Naya. Her hands had become like gentle explorers, finding something new every time, committing every dip and curve, every muscle, every detail to memory. But sometimes Heather's hands would lose all sense of direction and have to cling on to whatever part of Naya she could hold on to, like right now when Naya was insatiably kissing her at this one spot on her neck, just below the hinge of her jaw. It was a small, sensitive little spot that was quite effectively disarming. For Heather, it was like all of her senses just gave in whenever Naya kissed her there.

Naya pressed her lips further into the skin of Heather's neck, and did that thing with her tongue that she knew would drive Heather nuts. A soft moan escaped Heather's mouth as her hips rolled up into Naya's and her hand involuntarily tightened in Naya's hair. Naya ran one hand up Heather's leg while she slipped her other hand up Heather's shirt, running her thumb up the skin of her torso and just under her breast. She began kissing down Heather's neck and to her chest as she pulled the side of Heather's V-neck shirt up. She ran her thumb up, grazing it across Heather's now taut nipple and moved down to kiss all around the skin of her breast before taking it into her mouth.

Heather gasped at the touch of Naya's tongue. Her body rolled up again, craving more contact, and Naya pulled up at Heather's thigh, hitching it tight against her hip. Heather cradled Naya's head closer, her breathing becoming heavy as Naya became more ravenous.

Naya's hand began moving up Heather's leg and into her shorts. She bunched the fabric up by the waistband and her thumb slipped underneath Heather's underwear. Naya's fingers looped around and she began pulling down at Heather's shorts and underwear.

Heather was now breathing erratically, like she was gasping for air. Her heart was beating so fast she thought it might escape her chest, like a pack of wild horses. She could feel her nerves starting to go haywire and her muscles starting to tense up. Her voice was getting caught in her throat and she gulped. She was beginning to panic.

"N…Nay…" She was barely able to breath out. It almost sounded like a whisper. She tried again. "Naya…," she said, her voice a little more grounded this time. Her eyes sprung open and she moved her hand over Naya's, stopping her from pulling her shorts and underwear down any lower. "Too fast," she said breathlessly. "Too fast."

Naya's hand immediately retracted from underneath Heather's shorts and her mouth pulled back from the skin of Heather's breast. Both of them were out of breath like they had just run a half-marathon, their hearts beating fast. Suddenly the room felt incredibly hot.

Naya pulled Heather's shirt down and back into place. She slipped her hands around Heather's waist and leaned down, closing her eyes and resting her forehead at the center of Heather's chest. "Sorry." Naya panted out. "I…I got carried away."

Heather brought her hands up to her forehead, letting her fingers slide through her blonde hair. Feeling embarrassed, her eyes started blinking rapidly and she worried her lip as she tried to control her nerves and get them to calm down from their sudden panic. "No, I'm sorry…It's just, it's-"

"I know," Naya gulped and then nodded her head in understanding against Heather's chest. "There's…" Naya's voice was husky and she was still breathing hard. "…there's nothing to be sorry about."

Heather shifted her eyes down toward Naya, lying on top of her. She soothingly began stroking her dark brown hair and ran her thumb back and forth over Naya's shoulder. Naya was beginning to relax as she felt Heather's heartbeat slowing to it's normal rhythm again. She took one last calming breath before she could feel her own heartbeat slow to it's normal pace.

After they both seemed to cool off a bit, their bodies more relaxed, Naya lifted her head and placed a soft kiss at the center of Heather's chest. "We…," she moved up to kiss the base of Heather's neck. "…can take this…" Then she moved up further so her head hovered just over Heather's. "…as slow…" She placed a kiss on her cheek. "...or as fast…" she kissed Heather's other cheek. "…as you want." She placed one last kiss on Heather's lips, both of them smiling as she pulled away to rest her head in the crook of Heather's neck.

They lay there on the couch for a few minutes, Naya comfortably on top of Heather, her arms wrapped underneath her. Heather played with her dark brown hair and traced small patterns on her back with her fingertips.

It was new, this uncharted physical and intimate aspect of their relationship. They were getting to know each other in a way they'd never done before and although there was no shortage in any show of attraction over the past few days, they were certainly taking their time. Heather had wanted it that way. To be perfectly honest, Naya made her more turned on than anybody she'd ever been with before. Sometimes Naya made her feel such an intense sense of craving, yearning for her touch, that it made Heather feel like everything inside of her was knotting and tightening with so much pressure to the point where she wouldn't be able to contain herself.

But it also scared the hell out of her. Her feelings and impulses were all over the place, jumbled up in a chaotic mess that she was still figuring out how to manage. She felt like she was going through puberty again. She wanted to do things with Naya that she'd never really thought about doing with a girl before. What if she didn't do it right? What if she just completely embarrassed herself? What if she wasn't any good at it? Her only significant relationship to date, and thus most of her previous sexual encounters, had been with Taylor and she was the sexually confident one in that relationship. Now it seemed that everything was in reverse. Now Heather was the nervous one when it came to that type of intimacy. All of this worrying just burrowed into her head and it would send her into a near panic attack if things started progressing too fast. It was just overwhelming. She couldn't handle everything she was feeling, not all at once, especially the prospect of sex.

And that was the real lynchpin of the whole thing for her. Sex. She'd done frivolous sex before. Hell, she barely dated the guy she lost her virginity to and she'd always regretted it. Her first time was supposed to be meaningful and it was anything but that. She didn't care for that guy enough to warrant such an intimate experience.

She did however care about Naya. She cared about Naya a lot. More than she thought she should. If they were going to end up having sex at some point, and Heather _had_ thought about it extensively, then she wanted it to be something special, something that would draw them closer together. She didn't want it to be some flippant fuck that they would no doubt forget about a week later.

Heather knew Naya had probably wanted things to progress a little further than they had thus far. Naya was far from lacking in sexual confidence, and Heather could just tell whenever she occasionally caught Naya glancing at her a certain way. She wanted it. But thankfully when Heather had said she wanted to take things slow Naya had been nothing but understanding and supportive of the idea. She wholeheartedly agreed with Heather, that as much as either one of them wanted things to progress, especially when it came to the prospect of sex, they should take things slow. They were getting to know a side of each other that they'd never delved into before and they were going at their own pace, however slow or fast that may be. They wouldn't do anything unless both of them were ready and comfortable with it.

The way Naya had been about the whole thing really only gave Heather another reason to like her even more than she already did. There was no pressure, no tricks or games, just the two of them feeling it out. It was just a matter of whenever it felt right for both of them. Besides, Heather rather liked getting to know all the intimate little details that might have gone unnoticed had they rushed into anything, like whenever she kissed Naya just behind her neck, Naya's breath would catch in a gasp, or whenever she placed a soft kiss on Naya's stomach it would make her hips roll up a little and whenever she traced the tips of her fingers up Naya's arms it would put a blissful little smile on her face.

Kind of like right now as Heather trailed the tips of her fingers up Naya's arm. Naya curled her head further into the crook of Heather's neck. Heather could feel Naya's lips grazing across the skin of her neck in the shape of a smile. It was little things like that that meant everything in the world to Heather.

Heather bent her head a little to the side and nuzzled her nose against Naya's forehead before placing a gentle kiss there. That made Naya's smile grow even bigger.

After a moment Naya popped her head up and twisted her legs around so she was straddling and sitting up on top of Heather as she lay flat on the couch. "I wanna take you out on a date, like our first official Date date," Naya said resolutely.

With a puzzled look, Heather tilted her head to the side.

Naya bit her lip and began lightly drumming the tips of her fingers on the top of Heather's stomach. "We can get all dressed up and I can buy you flowers and pick you up and take you to a fancy restaurant. The whole nine yards." There was a light bounce in Naya's whole body now. She had wanted to take Heather on an official date for a while and was getting a bit giddy just thinking about it.

Heather let out a light chuckle at Naya's excitement and ran her hands up Naya's legs. "I thought when we went to Mulholland Drive, that was our first date."

Naya's giddiness deflated a little as she took it into consideration. "Well, yeah, I guess that was a date…but it was kind of spur of the moment. It wasn't planned out or anything."

"But it was so special and romantic." A glow seemed to fill Heather's eyes and she slowly threaded her fingers through Naya's. "It was like we were in a John Hughes movie or something or like we were in our own little snow globe, minus the snow." She spoke of their night on Mulholland Drive as if she were enchanted by the memory.

Naya smiled and let out a little giggle. A snow globe was certainly an interesting way to describe it.

Heather shifted her hips under Naya, relaxing into the couch and leaned her head back slightly as she closed her eyes. "And I can go there whenever I want. All I have to do is close my eyes and I'm there with you."

Naya was gazing down at Heather with nothing but adoration, spellbound and caught in Heather's charm. When she spoke, her voice was low and soft. "Tell me what you see."

"We're sitting there eating our In N Out while we look out at the city, and there's so many lights…" Heather let out a small giggle. "And you're laughing because I put fries in my burger."

Still holding her gaze, Naya bent down to lay on top of Heather again. She slid her hands around and underneath Heather, resting her head at the center of Heather's chest. "What else?"

Heather opened her eyes and tilted her head up off the couch to look at her. "Naya, you were there."

"I know, I remember. I just like hearing you talk about it."

Heather didn't quite know how to respond. She thought it was funny that Naya wanted her to describe something they'd experienced together.

Naya continued with a little more explanation. "Like with the snow globe thing. You make it sound…magical." If Naya had said that to anyone else she would've immediately criticized herself for sounding even remotely cheesy. But with Heather it made sense.

Heather smiled. She couldn't agree more. It did feel like there was some sort of magical element to that night and just about every other moment she'd spent with Naya since then, but that night seemed particularly special. She leaned back and closed her eyes again. "Okay, well we put the car radio on and we're eating our In N Out while we try and count the cars on the highway, and we try to name all the streets we can see. And then you said how you kinda wished we were looking out at a sky full of stars instead of city lights. And I said that the city lights are kinda like stars. They could be. They're a little different but they can burn just as bright for us because right now they're our stars."

Naya had slowly moved down Heather's body and lifted her shirt just a bit so that the skin of Heather's stomach was exposed. Naya placed a soft kiss there, just above her belly button. "What else?"

"Then the breeze picked up and it blew some of your hair away and out of your face and I just couldn't stop looking at you. You look more beautiful than the city lights. More beautiful than I've ever seen you."

Naya smiled into the skin of Heather's stomach and Heather could feel the soft tickle of her eyelashes. Naya placed another kiss on Heather's stomach, nuzzling her nose against her skin. "And what happens next?"

"Then it looked like you were getting cold. You started to shiver. You said you were fine but I knew you were just being stubborn. So I went to the car because I saw a blanket in the back seat. And I came back and wrapped it around both of us so we could both stay warm. And we stood there for a while, wrapped in the blanket. You had your arms around me and you rested your head on my shoulder and everything just felt so comfortable and perfect and right. And you started humming this little song, over and over. I'd never heard it before but it sounded so pretty."

Naya had slowly moved back up Heather's body, trailing kisses up along the way, and now had her head resting in the crook of Heather's neck again. She gently rubbed her thumb up and down Heather's arm as she began to hum the melody of the song. It was a short, sweet melody, only a few notes. But it put a smile to Heather's face as she felt the soft vibration of Naya's humming on her neck.

"Yeah, that one. So pretty." Heather placed her hand at Naya's back and began running her fingertips up and down her spine as she finished her melody. "And then I started swaying us back and forth so we could dance together to your song without unwrapping ourselves from our blanket. And it was like we were in our own little snow globe, just the two of us, where nothing bad could ever happen. Like nothing bad ever existed. And we stayed like that for a while. And then you kissed me again before you said we had to leave. And I didn't want to leave but I knew we had to. So now when I go back there I just leave that last part out, so we can stay in our little snow globe."

After a moment, Naya spoke just above a whisper and with the utmost sincerity. "I didn't want to leave either."

Heather comfortingly squeezed her arms a little tighter around Naya. "So then let's make that our first official date."

Heather's arms loosened around her as Naya pulled her body up and shifted so that she was just above Heather and so she could see her blue eyes. "Okay," Naya smiled. "That'll be our first official date."

Heather brought her hand up to cup Naya's face, her thumb grazing across her cheek. She wasn't sure if it was the way the light hit the room or if it was another one of those beautiful little details about Naya that she was finding more and more of lately, but in that moment her brown eyes seemed to glow and shine in a lighter shade that made them lustrous and glistening in the light, like honey. Heather had never seen Naya's eyes like that. It was captivating, and her gaze lingered for a moment before she smiled and pulled Naya in for a kiss. It was a kiss that seemed to seal the memory of that night on Mulholland Drive into each other's consciousness so they could carry that feeling with them wherever they went.

Heather gave her another quick kiss before Naya brought her head down to rest sideways at the center of Heather's chest again. She continued softly humming the short little melody from earlier as Heather continued playing with her hair. Both girls were perfectly content with just laying in each other's arms as the late morning sun streamed into the room through the windows.

Then Naya remembered something from their night on Mulholland Drive that could've potentially turned it into a disaster and she gave a soft chuckle into Heather's chest. "Good thing I knew about that lookout. We're lucky a ranger didn't come by and kick us out or arrest us or something."

Heather chuckled a bit as well. "Awh, yeah. That would've sucked. How'd you know about that place anyway?"

"My dad took me and my brother there a few times when we were kids, because we liked the view so much. It's not a really well known lookout. I don't ever remember anyone else being there when we went. So it was always like we had the whole place to ourselves. We used to pretend we were CIA spies in a foreign country or that L.A. was like a medieval kingdom and we were planning how we were going to lay siege to the city with trebuchets and crazy stuff like that."

Heather's chuckle turned into a hearty and playful laugh.

"Yeah, I know. We thought of some weird stuff."

"No, that sounds fun. That sounds like when my dad used to take me hiking when I was little." Heather laughed and spoke with an extra liveliness and joy that was subtle but noticeable to Naya. She quickly sat up on top of Heather so she could see her with a clear view as Heather continued. "We'd always play some type of make believe game along the trails like Cowboys and Indians, or Indiana Jones or pretend like we were digging for gold. My favorite was Alien Invasion. He'd pretend like he was a lost soldier and I'd jump out and zap him with a laser and he'd turn into an alien. And we were different aliens every time. Or we'd pretend like he'd just discovered a new planet and I was the alien who'd like show him around at all the cool stuff my planet had."

Heather continued giggling at the fond memories of her childhood games she played with her father. Naya gazed down at her, enamored with the joyful spark that now appeared in her blue eyes. And the smile on her face while she laughed was so effervescent and carefree, it was like she could see the source of Heather's playfulness.

Naya smiled. "Your dad sounds like a fun guy."

"He was…" Heather's laughing slowed in a calming breath. "…he was one of my best friends."

Naya was hesitant to ask but the question slipped out anyway without her thinking. "Do you…do you miss him?"

Though the spark in her eyes remained, there was a subtle and calm sort of sadness that faintly crept it's way in. Naya immediately started shaking her head, internally berating herself. "Of course you do. I'm sorry. That was a stupid thing for me to ask."

"No, it's fine. Really." Heather brought her hand up to cradle around the back of Naya's neck to stop her from her self-criticism.

At her touch, Naya stopped, nervously fixing her eyes and attention on Heather. "It's just…you never talk about your dad."

Heather dropped her hand and shrugged as if the topic wasn't a big deal. "I just try not to think about it too much."

The truth was her dad was a huge deal. He had been one of her best friends and she'd lost him when she was just fourteen. When he died it was like someone had punched a bizarrely shaped hole through her heart with a cookie cutter. And although it was painful, once he'd gone she resolved to bury all that sadness so it wouldn't outwardly show. She didn't want anyone feeling obligated to care for her pain just because she was the youngest. Not when she saw how badly it tore up her mom, hearing her crying in the next room at night, or seeing her collapse with sobbing at the simplest thing that reminded her of him. Her sisters had volatile and emotional reactions to it as well with uncontrolled outbursts of anger, aggression, bitter sarcasm, unnecessary risk-taking and bouts of depression. Even when Heather's sisters had said horrible things like she couldn't possibly hurt as much as they did because she didn't have as much time with him as they did, she still didn't want her pain to be a burden to any of them in the midst of all that emotional upheaval. So she did her best to bury all of it and kept it to herself. Besides, despite what her sisters said, she knew that no one knew her dad like she did. They shared a kindred spirit. They were cut from the same cloth. Deep down she always knew there was a part of him that lived on in her. Every day there were things that she did or things she would see or hear that reminded her of him and she could feel his presence passing through, like all of a sudden he was there giving her a hug. Even if she couldn't see him, she could feel it. But she never told anybody about those things. She never shared any of it with anyone. It was a reflex. She didn't want anyone ruining it. And that way it was like she could keep him all to herself and somehow she'd never lose him.

The conversation had obviously hit a sore spot and Heather wanted to change the subject. She wanted to be back in that snow globe with Naya where nothing bad ever happened. She pressed her palms against the cushions of the couch and sat upright so the small of her back was pressed against the armrest. Naya shifted and re-positioned herself on top of Heather so her legs were bent and her knees were hugging the sides of Heather's hips. She rested her arms and hands around Heather's neck and shoulders.

"So…" Heather cleared her throat. "Since our Mulholland Drive Snow Globe was our first official date, and it was a pretty damn good first date, that means I get to wear this the other way around now, right?" Heather lifted her right hand and slipped her Claddagh ring off her finger, twirled it around and slipped it back on the other way so the tip of the heart faced inward. "So now it means I'm dating someone."

A big smile spread across Naya's face and reached her eyes. She leaned in, pulling Heather close to capture her with another deep and amorous kiss. Naya pulled back so their noses were barely touching and she had an enticing smirk on her face. "I still wanna take you on a fancy date though."

Heather playfully bounced her brows up and mirrored the enticing smirk Naya had before giving her another quick kiss. Then Naya started giggling as Heather began giving her playful little pecks all over her face and at the corners of her mouth. Naya returned a series of her own quick, playful little kisses. They did this giggling and kissing back and forth as if they were in a contest to see who could be the most doting and affectionate.

Eventually Naya caught Heather in a deep and prolonged kiss full on the mouth, trying to prevent her from taking the upper hand in their little back and forth contest of playful affection. Heather tried pulling back slightly but Naya just pressed forward with a smile on her face that grazed across Heather's lips as she tried to hold her there with another kiss. She was quite amused with their little game. Heather began to giggle against Naya's mouth. "But I want to kiss you all over some more."

"Nope." Naya grinned. "Cuz right here's the best." She pressed another kiss to her.

"Oh really?"

"Mmhm."

Naya gave her another quick kiss. But the instant she pulled away Heather fervidly pressed forward, holding Naya at the small of her back, and locked their lips together, capturing her with a much longer, deeply impassioned and feverish kiss.

Heather held her there for a prolonged moment. She could feel Naya practically melting in her arms. And she could feel her own heart bursting with warmth, knowing that she felt the same way whenever Naya kissed her. She continued slowly moving her lips, caressing Naya's, taking her time, and savoring every last bit of her.

"Mmmm," Naya softly let out, halfway between a hum and a moan, into Heather's mouth. She was caught, ravished and captivated by Heather's simple and yet keen hold on her. She had been rendered defenseless and gave in, following Heather's lead.

Heather ran her hands up the length of Naya's back and down her sides, the palms of her hands forming perfectly around Naya's slender waist and hips. Naya moved her hand around the base of Heather's neck and they pressed further into each other, kissing harder and faster now, their breath quickening.

Heather felt a huge surge of confidence and craving all at once, with an ardent appetite for Naya. She moved her hands down around Naya's ass and pulled her close and tight. She moved down the tanned skin of Naya's neck, lightly stroking it with her tongue and enveloping all her sensitive spots there with her lips.

Naya slightly craned her neck to the side and ran her fingers up the back of Heather's neck and through her blonde hair, letting her fingers lightly drag. She opened her eyes for a second but they rolled back and she involuntarily shut them almost immediately as Heather started insatiably kissing that small, sweet spot just at the crook of her neck. Her breath hitched and then quickened and her body started dipping and rolling against Heather.

Heather could feel Naya's center slowly rolling against her and she could feel the heat building there as well as between her own legs. She slid one hand down Naya's thigh and back around her ass while the other hand slipped under Naya's shirt, indulgently coursing over the smooth skin of her torso and stomach and just below her breast. Heather liked the way Naya's skin felt underneath her hands. She liked the way Naya tasted when she kissed her. She liked the way she smelled. She liked the way her hands seemed to fit perfectly anywhere on Naya's body. She liked the way Naya's body moved when Heather was touching and kissing her like this. She liked all the sensibly pleasurable little sounds that were drawn from Naya's voice. She liked making Naya feel this way, that she could affect her like this, because Naya made her feel the same way. It was intoxicating.

Heather moved back to Naya's lips. It was as if they were both eager for more but somehow couldn't tear each other away from their mouths as their bodies continued to pitch and dip into each other and their hands roamed all over.

There was a buzzing sound coming from the coffee table. It was Heather's phone vibrating against the wood of the table. She was getting a phone call.

"Let it go to voicemail," Naya whispered breathlessly against Heather's mouth when they detached for a split second.

"Mmhm," Heather hummed and nodded her head slightly as they continued kissing even more fervently than before.

The phone stopped buzzing and Heather pulled up at Naya's shirt. When she got the shirt high enough, Naya lifted her arms from Heather's shoulders and neck. Heather easily slipped the shirt off of her, their lips detaching for only a brief second. Heather's hand immediately went for Naya's breast as she started trailing kisses down Naya's neck.

Naya was lightly digging her fingers in Heather's back and her other hand was cradling Heather's head closer as she made her way down Naya's neck and chest. Naya could feel her heart beat accelerating at a wildly fast pace and her breathing was becoming heavy and erratic again. She was enraptured by Heather's touch.

Heather's phone started buzzing against the coffee table again. She stopped and brought her hand around Naya's waist and her head up so she was eye level with her. She had a bothered but slightly troubled look on her face.

"Ignore it. You can call them back," Naya said in a low voice and then cupped her hands around Heather's face to bring her in for another sensuous kiss.

Heather detached her lips and pulled back only a little, her nose brushing on the side of Naya's. "But they've called twice," Heather breathed out. "What if it's an emergency?" Her mouth remained open, her lips brushing against Naya's wanting to kiss her again but forcing herself to stop.

"But…," Naya begged but didn't really have much of any argument.

Heather pressed a light kiss to her. "Just hold…" She kissed the corner of her mouth. "that…" She pressed another light kiss to her. "…thought." Heather captured her in one last feverish kiss. She lightly bit down on Naya's bottom lip and as she pulled away, Naya's lip drew out with hers. She lightly sucked and teased on it before letting it go.

Naya let out a whimpering sound as Heather released her. When she opened her eyes Heather had a seductive little smirk on her face. Naya smirked back. She brought her finger up to brush across her now slightly swollen lip and shook her head from side to side. "Such a tease."

Heather giggled and reached over to her phone on the table. The phone had stopped ringing by now so Heather checked her missed calls to see who had just tried calling her so adamantly.

"Shit!" She brought the phone closer to her face to make sure she read it right.

By the tone of Heather's voice Naya reluctantly knew they were done. She shifted to move off of Heather.

"Sorry. It's um…it's my mom. I should call her back." Heather felt a little awkward saying it, given the fact that she had not two seconds ago been making out with Naya, topless and straddling her.

Naya nodded and shifted so she was completely off of Heather and bent down to grab her shirt off the floor. Heather swung her legs around to get off the couch and walked over to the table of the breakfast nook area.

Heather kept herself facing toward the bay windows, away from Naya. She worried her lip and stared down at her phone with her finger hovering over the call button. Her other hand kept balling up into a fist and releasing, her fingers wiggling and fidgeting uncontrollably. All of a sudden she felt incredibly antsy and nervous about talking to her mom. She felt paranoid, like her mom somehow knew everything that was going on with Naya and had called to interrogate her about it, even though Heather hadn't said a word about it to anyone. Her mom wasn't even in the same room, let alone the same state, nonetheless, she felt like her mom had just walked in on her making out with Naya. It put her on edge.

She pressed the call button and took a deep breath. Her mom picked up on the first ring and Heather immediately felt like she was on pins and needles. "Heeey, mom."

Naya slipped her shirt back on and sat up from the couch, heading toward the kitchen. It was still a mess from them making breakfast that morning. Heather had slept over again. She had been sleeping over more frequently as of late and Naya was finding that Heather was really into making breakfast, specifically experimenting with omelets and pancakes. A macaroni and cheese omelet was the 'culinary mad scientist' choice of the day. It actually turned out pretty good even if the whole thing fell apart in a heap the second they tried getting it onto a plate.

Naya figured she'd start quietly cleaning up while Heather was on the phone. In her peripheral vision she could see Heather was beginning to shift her weight back and forth and her hands were fidgety. Naya glanced over at her, sensing a lot of nervous energy coming from her direction. She saw Heather starting to pace a bit. Then she stopped to rub her thumb on the wood of the breakfast table. She kept her voice low and Naya could barely overhear the conversation on the phone.

Heather turned to glance in Naya's direction for a moment. "Umm, not much. Just, uh, running some errands today," Heather said into the phone. She turned back around to face the bay windows again and continued rubbing her thumb on the wood of the table.

Naya cocked her eyebrow, intrigued by Heather's obvious nervous behavior. She decided to go upstairs and check her own phone for any missed calls and probably make her bed and clean her room a bit, leaving Heather downstairs for some privacy.

It worried Naya that Heather seemed so tense. She figured it had something to do with the fact that Heather was on the phone with her mom. From what Naya had observed she always thought Heather had a peculiar relationship with her mother. Sometimes they seemed so in sync and comfortable with each other and other times her mom put her completely on edge with frustration and anxiety. But it wasn't in the normal way that mothers and daughters can drive each other insane. It was more like Heather was concerned with the possibility of her mom being overly disappointed with her. The icing on the cake was that Naya knew Mrs. Morris didn't care for Heather's friendship with her too much. Naya had witnessed it first hand the first time she ever met Heather's mom.

Mrs. Morris had been in town for a weekend to visit and Heather had invited Naya out to lunch with them one day. From the start, Naya had felt unwelcome in the presence of Heather's mom. Just from the look and vibe she received she got the distinct feeling that Heather's mom didn't like her very much. She had been artificially polite with Naya and gave off the sense that she actually looked down on Naya with condescension. Then Heather's mom had made a backhanded compliment toward her. Naya had decided to let it go but later she did it again, another insult toward Naya disguised as a weak compliment. Naya had shrewdly and tactfully defended herself, deflecting the comment and firing back a cleverly ambiguous comment of her own that could be taken either positively or negatively. She remembered she had smirked with pride when Mrs. Morris was at a loss for words, dumbfounded by Naya's one-upmanship. In lieu of coming up with anything to say back she had changed the subject. But when Naya looked over to Heather she could tell Heather was anxious about the tone of conversation that had been established between her mom and her best friend. She was caught between a rock and hard place, unable to take sides. It was either defend her best friend and sacrifice her need for approval from her mother or sacrifice a certain measure of trust and loyalty she had with Naya. Even though Naya felt bad about Heather being put in such a position, Naya was thankful that she didn't really see a whole lot of Mrs. Morris after that incident.

Naya walked into her room with a bit of a frown on her face. Her room was a mess. Not that she didn't know it was a mess but for a moment she felt embarrassed that Heather had been staying over and her room wasn't clean. Normally Naya was quite neat and organized. She knew Heather didn't really care either way. She'd been over when it was a mess plenty of times. Hell, Heather was usually the messier one of the two of them, but still, Naya felt an overpowering pressure or compulsion, like she needed to make everything perfect.

There were a bunch of stray clothes on the floor. She'd have to figure out which ones were hers and which ones were Heather's. Since Heather had been spending the night more frequently she had also been leaving more stuff at Naya's place. Her dresser had some magazine scraps on it; articles and pages she had ripped out so she could pin them to her corkboard because she liked them and wanted to get more information on them. There was some jewelry scattered over her dresser. She'd have to put those back in their appropriate place. There was a stack of half read books on the bedside table with various pens and highlighters and a half filled coffee cup from that morning. Naya had woken up with a bunch of lyric ideas she wanted to write down and sat in bed with a cup of coffee and her notebook while Heather took a shower. In fact one of her many worn and tattered notebooks still lay open on the disheveled and unmade bed.

Naya picked up a few stray clothing items off the floor and tossed them in her dirty hamper. She went over to her phone, plugged in and resting on the edge of the dresser. There was a text message from Kevin.

_**Bee! DJ Krem at Club Downunder. Tonight. Harry and me are goin. U down? I need a drinking buddy who can keep up with me. **_

Naya smiled. She hadn't been out to a club with Kevin in a while. She was suddenly in a mood to go out for a night on the town. Club nights out with Kevin were always fun. If anything there was always a good story to tell by the end of the night with whatever antics and shenanigans Kevin usually came up with.

Naya heard the thump of Heather's footsteps up the stairs. It sounded like she was taking them two at a time.

Heather rounded the corner and swung into the room. "Sorry about that."

"No, it's cool. Is everything okay?"

"Huh," Heather tilted her head, confused for a second before realizing that Naya was referencing the fact that her mom had called her quite urgently. "Oh! Yeah, she just called to say she couldn't come out to visit next week. Something with work."

"Oh, okay." Naya was casually indifferent. "Well that sucks I guess."

Heather shrugged. "I'll see her soon anyway. I have to fly back for that wedding."

Heather was actually sort of glad her mom wouldn't be visiting after all. The thought of trying to tactfully split her time between her mom and Naya made her uneasy and she would've been terrified with the idea of her mom somehow finding out that they were dating now. Heather hated to lie and she wasn't very good at hiding things from the people who knew her best, especially her mom. Heather didn't know how many days she could manage without her mom sensing that Heather was hiding something.

Naya excitedly smiled and held up her phone with Kevin's text message. "Bee and Harry are going to that new club that just opened tonight. Wanna go?"

"Oooh, yeah!" Heather enticingly bounced her brows up and suggestively wiggled her hips. "The four of us? We'll show up everyone on the dance floor."

Naya rolled her eyes and giggled. She was right. With the four of them it would surely be an interesting night.

* * *

Club Downunder was the new hotspot of the week. The club itself was a huge space with two floors. The top floor had lots of private booths lining the walls with a central bar at the back and tables all along the railings, which looked down over the massive dance floor at the center of the ground floor. There was a large, winding metal staircase just next to the dance floor that led upstairs. Bars lined almost every wall of the ground floor except for an elevated stage on the back wall of the dance floor for the DJ. The lighting was dark except for by the bars, small lights at the tables, and various colored lights zooming over the dance floor that could quite possibly put someone into epileptic shock.

The group had just finished their first round of drinks and were standing by one of the bars on the ground floor to order their second round before they went upstairs. Heather was still working on hers. There was maybe a quarter of it left. The music was so loud with the bass and beat thumping through the air that when she looked down into her glass she could make out the beat of the music just by the way the vibration pulsed through the liquid.

So far, Heather had been having a good time. She thought the club wasn't really much different from any other club though, just that it was a popular spot at the moment so it was packed with people. A lot of clubs just started looking the same after a while anyway. Despite her jaded attitude she was still in the mood for a night of fun. If anything the DJ was spinning a good mix of music and she wanted to get out on the dance floor, specifically with Naya. Kevin and Harry could also surely be trusted to have some good dance moves to share.

Harry was standing next to Heather and chatting with a friend he had run into at the club. Kevin was leaning his elbow up against the bar and facing them. Naya was also leaning up against the bar, trying to flag down a bartender.

"Hemo, you still nursin' that?" Kevin gestured to her drink in her hand. "You gotta catch up."

"Nah, I'm not drinking too much tonight. One or two and I'm good." Heather took another small sip of her drink.

"Ok. That's cool." Kevin nodded and then turned to Naya, tapping her on the elbow.

"Yo, Bee. You up for some shots before we head up?"

"Hell yeah! Let's do it." Naya excitedly smiled and then flagged down one of the bartenders walking by.

"Can we get two Fruit Loops?" Naya order the shots for her and Kevin. She knew Heather didn't want to drink much tonight and Harry wasn't much of a drinker to begin with. Kevin had been right when he said he needed a drinking buddy that could keep up with him tonight. If anyone was up for the job Naya was overly confident that it would be her. Plus, she was giddy with excitement and ready for a night of partying.

Heather smirked and shook her head as she watched Naya place her order.

_So predictable. It's her favorite shot._

Although Heather had to admit, the shot did actually taste quite yummy, just like Fruit Loops. Aside from the fact that she didn't really feel like drinking too much tonight, she was glad she had made the decision early to cut herself off after two drinks. She had a feeling Naya and Kevin were going to tear up the bar tonight and she couldn't leave Harry to take care of all three of them if they all ended up drinking too much.

Heather finished her drink and leaned up against the bar next to Naya. She set her finished glass down on the bar while Naya and Kevin picked up their shots. They clinked their glasses, tapped them down on the wood of the bar and tossed back their drinks, all in one fluid motion.

Naya turned to Heather as they both leaned back on the bar, facing the dance floor and waiting for Naya and Kevin's other drinks they had ordered.

"You better be out on that dance floor with me tonight," Heather teasingly smirked.

"Of course. How could I miss out on that?" Naya ran her hand across the small of Heather's back. She smiled and leaned in to whisper in Heather's ear. "It's gonna be hard to keep my hands off you though."

Heather looked down at the floor trying to hide the smile that streaked across her face. She turned to face Naya and grabbed her hand, running her thumb over the top of it. She leaned in to whisper, "Maybe we'll have a dance party of our own later."

Naya pulled back with an excitedly surprised look on her face. "Oh really?"

Just then, Kevin tapped on Naya's arm from behind, holding her drink out for her. "Here. Come on, let's head upstairs."

The four of them and Harry's friend started making their way through the crowd around the outside of the dance floor. Heather walked in front of Naya, holding her hand by her fingertips so she wouldn't lose her in the crowd. Heather made a mental note to herself to keep a close eye on Kevin and Naya tonight, especially Naya. They hadn't even been there an hour and Naya had started in on the shots and was working on her second drink. Just from the look in her eye and the fact that she seemed a little more carefree and giddy tipped Heather off to the idea that Naya was definitely in the mood to be a little indulgent and excessive tonight.

They found a booth on the second floor. Heather was about to scoot in next to Naya and then stopped when someone tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around and was happily surprised to see a familiar blonde haired girl with a dancer's physique.

"Shannon! Oh my God!" Heather gave her a big hug.

Shannon had a big smile on her face and tightly hugged Heather back. "Hemo! Girl, how are you?"

Still smiling and excited to see her, Heather let go of their hug. "Good. Holy crap, it's been a while."

"I know, right? And now you're on a TV show and everything. You're just skyrocketing."

"Here, let me introduce you." Heather turned to the table to introduce everyone. "This is Harry and Harry's friend, Eric, and Kevin, and this is my gir-, uh, my, um…" She stuttered for a moment and then cleared her throat. "My friend, Naya."

Shannon and everyone at the table said their 'hello's' and gave welcoming smiles.

"Shannon was one the dancers on the Beyoncé Tour with me," Heather explained.

"Speaking of that, Danielle and Tonya are here too. They're down on the dance floor. I was about to go find them. You should join us," Shannon offered.

"Oh! No way! I haven't seen those girls in forever."

"Well come find us later. We'll be down there. They're gonna be so excited to see you."

"Okay, cool. I'll be down there in a bit."

Shannon left, heading down the metal staircase and Heather slid into the booth next to Naya. They sat quite close and leaning into each other. Eventually Heather started running her foot up the back of Naya's leg and Naya rested her hand on Heather's, squeezing her knee and running her thumb across her skin of her leg underneath the table. Then Heather started tracing the tips of her fingers up and down Naya's forearm just underneath the table and out of sight from everyone else. It was true. They really did have a hard time keeping their hands off each other.

The group at the table conversed, exchanging jokes and sharing their impression of the new club so far. A few more of Harry's friends joined them at the table and Kevin ordered two more rounds of shots and a bottle of Smirnoff for all of them to share. After a while, Heather decided to go down to the dance floor to find Shannon and her other friends from the Tour. She wanted Naya to come with her but Naya decided to wait a bit longer and have another drink with Kevin. She told Heather she'd be down there with Kevin in a little bit and she'd surprise her on the dance floor.

Harry was engaging some of his friends in a lively story as Heather left the table. As soon as Heather left, Kevin turned to Naya for a more private conversation between the two of them.

"Bee! So are you gonna tell me what's going on with you and Hemo? Come on. Spill!"

"Wait, what?" Naya was surprised at how direct he was.

"Oh, come on. Between what happened at my place a couple weeks ago, you guys being all weird around each other on set one minute and then the next it's like you two can't keep your eyes off each other. Seriously, that shit gave me whiplash." Kevin was talking fast trying to list off all of his observations and reasons why Naya should tell him what was going on. "Then tonight, you two being like way more touchy than normal, practically having eye sex, and I know some shit was going on underneath the table. Don't even try and tell me I'm wrong on that one. And don't think I didn't catch her almost calling you her girlfriend—"

"Okay! Okay!" Naya grabbed at his hands and pulled them down to stop him from his animated talking. "Shit Kev. Calm down."

"So, what's going on? Are you two like foolin' around or something?" Kevin pressed, less vehemently this time.

"We're dating—"

"Haha! I knew it!" Kevin blitzed her with a huge hug.

Naya laughed at his overwhelming enthusiasm with the news as he tightened his arms around her and let go.

"This calls for a toast. Shots!" Kevin grabbed two empty shot glasses from the table and filled them with Smirnoff, polishing the bottle off.

"Well aren't you excited?" Naya sarcastically commented.

"Two of my best friends dating? I couldn't be happier. Besides, I called it after that night at my house. I was like, 'One, Two months tops. They're gonna be dating, like legit, for serious.'" He handed her the full shot glass. They clinked glasses, tapped them on the table and then drank what was the fourth shot for each of them that night.

Naya cringed at the burn of the vodka down her throat and set the glass back on the table.

"Wait, so like what are the details? How serious is it? Or are you two keeping things casual for now?"

Naya forgot how insanely talkative Kevin got when he drank a lot. No doubt he was going to ask a lot of questions. She cleared her throat to try and get rid of the burning sensation there before she talked. "Well, um, I mean we're dating but we're taking things slow for now. Ya know, I mean it's new. We're just sorta feeling it out and see what happens."

Kevin smiled, genuinely happy for both Naya and Heather. "Why didn't you tell me sooner?"

Naya shrugged. "I dunno, I mean we're taking it slow. We're both still kinda getting comfortable with it. I guess I just didn't wanna jump the gun on anything. Plus I don't want anyone injecting their opinion on it."

A sense of hurt flashed across Kevin's face and Naya immediately compensated for it. "No, no. I didn't mean you guys. I just meant, ya know, everyone else." She gestured her hand to reference the club that was packed full of the general public.

"Well does anyone else know?"

"Dianna." Naya laughed. "I practically sang it to her over the phone."

"Well to be honest, I don't think anyone in the cast would be surprised. They'd probably be pretty happy for you guys actually. Although…" Kevin drew out the word and brought up his finger to emphasize his next point. He felt it was crucial. "…I will say this. I don't think Ryan's gonna be too happy about it if you two start hooking up in the trailers."

"Oh shit! That's right. I didn't even think about that."

"I mean you already got in trouble for that last year. I don't think you wanna try your luck with him again."

Naya frowned contemplating the idea. When her and Mark had been dating, Ryan had found out about them occasionally hooking up in their trailers on set. To say the least it had not been fun getting scolded for their lack of professionalism. Naya wasn't sure if she was willing to risk her job like that again. "Well, we'll cross that bridge when we get to it," she rationalized to herself.

Kevin was silent for a moment, at a loss for any sort of advice or comfort he could offer. He could see Naya starting to get lost in her head with troubling thoughts and offered her a hug instead. "Well I'm happy for you two."

Naya laughed and hugged him as well. "Thanks Kev. You're a good friend."

When they let go of their hug Kevin gestured over to the dance floor. "Alright let's get out there so you can go dance with your girl."

They both smiled and scooted out of the booth. When Naya stood up she felt dizzy for a moment and stumbled over to the railing to hold on to something so she could steady herself. When her vision righted itself again she looked down onto the ground floor, scanning the dance floor for Heather and her friends.

She finally spotted Heather, dancing at the center of the floor in that carefree and improvised manner that really made her shine. A smile crossed Naya's face. Heather really was a great dancer and Naya couldn't wait to go down there and be with her.

Kevin was standing next to her by the railing and she pointed out to the floor so he could see. "There she is."

"Alright let's go."

Kevin let Naya step in front of him and lead the way. She kept her hand on the railing all the way down the metal stairs trying to keep her balance. All those previous shots and drinks from earlier in the night were hitting her all at once now that she was up and moving. When they got downstairs Naya and Kevin weaved their way in between people on the dance floor making their way to the center. Naya kept checking back to make sure Kevin didn't get lost behind her.

They approached from behind and Naya could see Heather just in front of her, her blonde hair swaying back and forth, her hands up in the air and her body moving perfectly to the music. Naya reached her hand out and took hold of Heather's hand, spinning her to turn around. Heather greeted her with a big smile and hooked her hand around Naya's waist drawing their bodies closer. They helplessly only had eyes for each other while Kevin and Heather's friends danced around them. Their hands roamed searching to be closer to each other and for as much contact as possible as their bodies moved in sync together, harmonizing to the music. The last thing Naya remembered of the night was a bright pink light flashing across the dance floor, her hand formed perfectly around Heather's waist, and the two of them invigorated with the pulse of the music coursing through their bodies.

* * *

Please leave a review if you feel so inclined. :)


	10. Half Empty, Half Full

A/N: Once again, thank you for the reviews and your loyal readership. Enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

Ch. 10 Half-Empty, Half-Full

Naya lay in her bed, sprawled out and lying on her belly. Her body felt like a lead pipe; heavy and immovable. She was barely awake. She kept her eyes closed, either out of sheer refusal to get up or the fact that it seemed like it would take a colossal amount of energy for her body to perform any type of function, or both.

She let out a heavy groan. Even something as simple as that seemed like it took too much energy. Her throat was really dry and it hurt.

Nevertheless, she sighed deeply, resolving to at least attempt to get out of bed. She rolled over onto her back and her arm sprawled out onto the space in the bed next to her. Her arm started fishing around over the empty space like she was searching for something that she expected to be there. She quickly sat up and opened her eyes, her head wobbling a bit and her hair in her face.

"Ugh," she groaned again. She scrunched her face and pinched her eyes shut as she brought her hand up to comfort the sharp pain shooting through to her forehead. "Too fast," she croaked out and fell back onto the bed.

She opened her eyes and stared up at the ceiling. Her vision was a little blurry.

_How is it that I let myself drink way too much last night but I'm responsible enough to drunkenly remember to take out my contacts before I passed out?_

She blinked her eyes rapidly and tried to muster up some energy for a second attempt at getting up. Then a wonderful smell hit her nose and she perked up with a smile.

_Is that coffee? And…maybe cookies or something? Is Heather still here?_

She had more motivation to get up now. She slowly sat up and swung her legs over the side of the bed, taking a moment to make sure she was steady. She had a headache and she felt like someone had torn a giant hole through the pit of her stomach with a screwdriver but she was fine. She ran her hands through her hair a few times and tied it back in a low side-ponytail that made her hair drape over her shoulder. Then she opened the drawer of her bedside table to pull out her black-framed glasses, slipping them on so she could see clearly.

Yawning violently, she sluggishly walked to her bathroom to brush her teeth and wash her face. It took her a moment to realize she only had her underwear and a t-shirt on so she slipped on a pair of blue striped pajama shorts before going downstairs.

* * *

Heather was whistling to the Looney Tunes theme playing on the TV as she ladled the pancake mix onto the pan. Once the batter was in the pan she grabbed a handful of chocolate chips.

"Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-That's all folks!" She imitated the famous Porky Pig line and at the ending note of the credits she threw the chocolate chips into the batter like Emeril Lagasse. A spot of batter flew up and landed on her cheek.

She heard a soft giggle from behind as Naya brushed her blonde hair to the side, so it was off her neck and shoulder and snaked one arm around Heather's waist and stomach, hugging her tight.

"It's impossible that you're this cute so early in the morning," Naya's voice came out raspy as she whispered in Heather's ear. She nipped and kissed at the back of Heather's neck, gently swaying her from side to side.

Heather smiled. "Well I've been up for a while." She turned around in Naya's arms.

"Good morning," Naya said softly and leaned in to nuzzle her nose against Heather's.

Heather brought her arms to rest over Naya's shoulders. "Well _now_ it's a very good morning." She smiled and kissed her. "How are you feeling?" She tucked a loose strand of brown hair behind Naya's ear.

"Eh, a little groggy." Naya shrugged her shoulder with what little energy she had. "Remind me to smack Kevin over the head with a sledgehammer though cuz that's how my head feels right now," she joked.

"You know you didn't have to drink that much, right? Kevin wouldn't have cared either way."

Naya's forehead wrinkled and she hung her head, scolding herself.

_She's right. I was an idiot for drinking that much._

She started shuffling her feet. "I know. I'm sorry. I guess Kev and I got carried away at some point."

"Oh yeah," Heather emphasized and nodded her head. "The two of you turned into a bit of a shitshow by the end of the night."

Naya winced with guilt.

Heather brought her finger under Naya's chin, lifting it up. "Nay, don't worry about it. Everyone has nights like that. Besides, you have me to make you yummy hangover pancakes in the morning." She kissed her again, bringing a small, appreciative smile to Naya's face.

Naya glanced over Heather's shoulder at the pan on the stove. "Another culinary mad scientist experiment? To be honest I dunno if my stomach can handle one of those this morning."

"No, nothing crazy. Just pancakes."

Naya brought her finger up and wiped the small spot of batter from Heather's cheek. She put her finger in her mouth, licking the batter off and smacking her lips, curiously taking in the flavor. "Peanut Butter?"

"With chocolate chips!" Heather proudly grinned.

Naya licked her lips some more. "Mmm, my favorite." She pressed a kiss to Heather. Then, in her peripheral vision, the half full pot of coffee on the counter caught her attention. "Oooh, and coffee too." She eagerly went to the counter and grabbed a mug hanging from one of the hooks on the wall.

Just as Naya reached for the handle of the coffee pot, Heather swatted at her hand. "Uh-uh. Water first."

Naya dropped her hand and meant to pout but she was still slow and groggy with her hangover so her expression came out as sort of a mope. Heather understood anyway.

Heather placed her hand on her hip and cocked it to the side. "Seriously, coffee's going to dehydrate you and that's the last thing you need after the mega-ton you drank last night."

Naya pouted some more and pushed the coffee mug to the side.

_Right again._

She reached up to the cabinet for a glass as Heather went to flip the pancake in the pan. Naya sluggishly shuffled her way around the kitchen to fill her glass with water and get the aspirin bottle out of the small drawer of the island counter. She took two tablets and chugged her whole glass of water. She filled it a second time and chugged half the glass, letting out a sigh of relief when she was done.

Heather glanced back at her with a small smile.

The water really did help. At least Naya didn't feel so parched now. She remained silent for a moment, leaning her forearms on top of the island counter and staring blankly at the half full glass of water. She finally decided to drink the rest of it.

As Naya set her empty glass back down, Heather had walked up next to her and set a plate of Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip pancakes in front of her, pushing a filled mug of coffee next to it. "Feeling better now?"

Naya cleared her throat. "Much." At least her voice sounded somewhat normal. She looked down at the coffee and stack of pancakes. The top one had chocolate chips in the shape of a heart and whipped cream at the center of it and the coffee was already prepared the way Naya liked it. A smile crept across her face. "Why are you so good to me?"

Heather slipped her hand around Naya's waist. "Because you're cute and I like doing things for you like making you breakfast." She bounced her finger on the tip of Naya's nose.

Naya giggled as her smile became goofy and she scrunched her nose.

"And I like doing things that make you smile like that." Heather pecked her nose with a kiss and then nodded her head in the direction of the breakfast table. "Now sit down and eat up."

"Yes ma'am," Naya joked as she grabbed her plate and coffee. She loved when hints of Heather's demanding side came out. As she turned to go toward the table Heather playfully smacked at Naya's butt. Naya glanced back at her with her eyebrow raised and eyeing Heather over the rim of her glasses.

Heather shrugged back with her hands up. "Wasn't me," she joked with a sly smile.

Naya shook her head and laughed as she sat down at the round, booth-like breakfast table. A moment later, Heather scooted in next to her with a plate of her own non-chocolate chip Peanut Butter pancakes, two forks, a knife and a bottle of maple syrup. Naya eagerly grabbed the syrup bottle and poured some over her pancakes while Heather used her hands to rip her pancakes into pieces on her plate.

"Switch ya," Heather held the knife out to Naya and Naya handed the bottle to Heather.

Heather drowned her ripped up pancakes in syrup while Naya cut a few pieces of hers, forked a piece and shoved it in her mouth.

"Oh my Go'. Thes' are a'azing," Naya raised her hand to cover her mouth while she chewed.

Heather forked one of her pieces to eat and eyed Naya who continued to thoroughly enjoy eating her breakfast. "Glad you like it," she let out a light chuckle.

Naya practically inhaled half her pancakes before she felt like the food had started to absorb some of that hungover feeling in her stomach. She felt much better now and sipped on her coffee. Crossing her leg over her knee, she held her mug in her lap and ran her finger over the rim of it, staring down into the coffee.

Heather had her fork raised to eat another piece and paused with her mouth still open. She noticed Naya's apprehensiveness. She didn't know why Naya suddenly looked nervous, like she wanted to ask something but was too embarrassed about it, but it was too obvious not to address. "Full already?" Heather casually asked as she chomped down on her fork.

"No," Naya's voice was small and she was still running her finger over the rim of her mug. "So, um…how bad was I last night?"

"You were fine, Naya. Don't worry about it." Heather gave a relieved chuckle to laugh it off as she forked another piece.

Naya nudged the bridge of her glasses up and looked up at Heather. "No, seriously. I didn't do anything stupid, did I? Because to be honest I don't really remember much after dancing at the club."

"No, you didn't do anything stupid," Heather reassured her. "Although I thought it was funny when you tried to run away with the taco cart." She chomped down on another pancake bite.

"I did what?" Naya smacked her hand on the table in shock. "Are you serious?"

Heather laughed and shook her head up and down.

"Why did I steal a damn taco cart? When did we get tacos?"

"Well," Heather swallowed her food before explaining. "You and Kevin wanted some late-night drunchies and got in an argument about tacos versus burgers, which Kevin won." Heather tipped her fork down to emphasize the point. "But when Kevin's burger place was closed you went ape shit for the taco cart down the street. When the taco guy was taking too long in the vendor truck next to him you stole the cart and started pushing it down the street."

Naya's eyes went wide.

Heather started snickering and laughed harder. "The guy walked out like half a minute later and flipped out when he saw you running down the street with his cart."

Naya's eyes went wider still. "And no one tried to stop me?"

Heather was cracking up in her seat, re-telling the story. "Well Kevin and I were too busy rolling on the floor laughing."

Naya set her coffee on the table and propped her elbows up, placing her head in her hands.

"I guess you wanted the tacos all to yourself," Heather chuckled again.

Naya began shaking her head in her hands and talking fast. "Damnit, I'm such an idiot for drinking that much. And I'm sure that wasn't the only stupid thing I did. I probably made a bunch of inappropriate comments and I—" She popped her head up. "Oh God, how did we get home?"

"I drove your car home," Heather reassured her and placed her hand on Naya's knee.

"And then you had to deal with _my_ drunk ass?" Naya whined and sunk her head into her hands again.

"Well I wasn't gonna leave you here by yourself. Who knows? You might've tried to go out and get that taco cart back," Heather joked.

As much of a pain it can be sometimes, to take care of people when they're three sheets to the wind, Heather actually didn't mind one bit. She wanted to be the one to take care of Naya.

Naya shook her head in her hands again, partly out of guilt and partly to comfort her mild headache. "I am so sorry you had to deal with that. I was probably a hot damn mess."

"Relax. The worst you did was when you tried to make some sort of sexual joke about Aliens and probing." Heather giggled. "It was bad. I don't think you even figured out a punch line for it."

"Aaaand there's the inappropriate comment." Naya swung her hand up in the air and let it smack down in her lap.

Heather decided she had joked enough about it and took on a tone of seriousness to reassure Naya. "You were fine. I promise." Heather ran her hand back and forth over Naya's knee and forked another bite to eat.

Naya huffed and sat back. She stared down at her fingers as she began inaudibly muttering to herself.

Heather placed her fork down on the plate and turned to face Naya. "See this is why I didn't want to say anything. You're just gonna beat yourself up about it."

As Heather turned back to her plate, Naya leaned her head back. She muttered a little louder under her breath. "Stupid. I was probably a horny little asshole when we got back too."

Heather had forked another bite but stopped short of her mouth again. "Naya, stop it. Everyone has crazy drunk nights. You're allowed to have some too and not feel bad about it. Cut yourself some slack."

Naya looked up at Heather with concerned and questioning eyes.

Heather sighed and set her fork down, turning sideways in her seat to face Naya. "Fine. What do you want to know?"

Naya looked down at her fidgeting hands again, trying to avoid Heather's gaze. "I didn't, like, tryyy…" she hesitantly drew out the word, "…anything with you while I was hammered out of my mind, did I?" She looked up at Heather, hoping she hadn't made a fool of herself the night before when her inhibitions had been gone.

Heather cleared her throat and sat up a little. "You did," she said, nodding forward.

Naya hung her head back again, looking up at the ceiling. "Way to go, asshole," she muttered to herself.

Heather had been reluctant to say anything because she knew the reaction it would solicit but, regardless, she wanted to be honest. Heather explained further to put Naya at ease. "You stopped, the second I told you you needed to sleep instead of make out with me." It was actually more of an attempt at drunken groping than making out but Heather thought she'd clean up the description a bit. "And then you felt so guilty about being so forward that you tried to put yourself in the doghouse and insisted that you sleep on the couch."

"You _should've_ just let me sleep on the couch."

"Well lucky for me, you're easy to carry. So I just sort of picked you up and carried you upstairs."

Naya winced with guilt once again. "I'm so sorry you had to deal with that."

"You're kind of ridiculous, you know that?" Heather let out a small chuckle.

"It's embarrassing. No one wants a sloppy, drunk idiot trying to make out with them." Naya leaned forward on the table pushing her pancakes around with her fork. "I'm sorry. You didn't have to stay and deal with me being a horny little prick and then be so nice and make me pancakes in the morning and-"

"Would you stop apologizing?" Heather squeezed at Naya's knee and then ran her thumb back and forth on it. "I know it sounds weird but…I like taking care of you like that," Heather shrugged her shoulder. "Ya know, making sure you got to bed okay and then making you feel better in the morning."

"Please," Naya let her fork drop down on the plate and crossed her arms over her lap. "No one wants to take care of a drunken buffoon."

"Yeah, but I wasn't taking care of a drunken buffoon. I was taking care of _you_."

Heather's last words hit Naya's ears with a thud and her face softened as she took a moment to let them sink into her.

"Actually you were kind of cute about it," Heather's mouth started to form into a warm smile.

Naya shifted her eyes to Heather in a hard and doubtful glare. How could she possibly have been cute about wanting to make out while she was so drunkenly far gone and Heather was sober?

Heather shifted in her seat and scooted a little closer to Naya, speaking slowly and softly. "Well, you slurred your words a little but, you said that you were really happy…about us and the way things are going, and…that this isn't just some fling for you…" She cleared her throat and looked down at her hands. "…and that…" She had been holding her breath and let it out in a sigh, looking up into Naya's eyes. "…that I'm too special, and I mean too much to you for that, and you don't wanna do anything to ruin it."

Naya's face softened and her eyes became gentle once again.

"It was actually really sweet, the way you said it," Heather shyly shrugged.

Naya cupped both her hands around Heather's hand on her knee. Her eyes timidly shifted up and down from their hands to Heather's eyes."It's just cuz, ya know, we're taking things slow and all, and…and I don't want you to feel pressured about anything and…" she sighed with frustration. "I don't want to do something that's going to screw everything up and make you freak out again"

"You're not screwing things up," Heather earnestly talked over her but Naya continued to press forward with her line of thought.

"And I know you're still getting used to it and you're maybe still not all that comfortable with it yet, and—"

Naya abruptly stopped when Heather quickly held her hands up to cup Naya's cheeks and hold her attention in order to break her of yet another one of her self-critical tirades. She soothingly rubbed her thumbs over Naya's ears and looked deep into her big brown eyes. "You want this to work, right?"

Naya nodded 'yes' and pressed her forehead to Heather's.

"Then you gotta stop treating me like I'm a glass vase that you're about to drop and break. _You_ are not what I'm uncomfortable with." Heather's voice was gentle but resolute as she spoke.

"I just…" Naya took in a shaky breath. "…Y-you matter to me…a lot." She sniffled and reached up to grab hold of Heather's hand. "And I know new relationships can be exciting and scary but I don't ever want you to feel scared with me or-or feel like you have to run away from me, like before."

Heather shut her eyes and squeezed Naya's hand as she let it fall to her lap, hating that she had ever made Naya feel unwanted. "I know I kinda wigged out before and even now, I mean, I'm still a little scared and…" Some of Heather's tension released into a soft giggle. "To be honest I feel like I don't have the first clue about what I'm doing half the time."

A sly smirk flashed over Naya's face as she arched her brow. "Oh trust me, you're doing everything right."

Heather chuckled softly and ran her thumb over Naya's hand as she took a moment to regain some clarity in what she wanted to say. "Look, obviously I get nervous…and I think it's mostly because, well, I didn't think I could care about you anymore than I already did but…I do." She looked up into Naya's eyes. "I really do. But, the point is," she scooted close to her, cupping her face again and speaking with confidence. "You don't have to walk on eggshells with me. It's everything else _out there_ that makes me nervous. Not you."

With soft eyes Naya was held by Heather's gaze, taking in all her sincerity before she nodded her head with understanding.

Heather pressed a kiss to her and tucked another loose strand of brown hair behind her ear.

"How do you always know what to do and say to make me feel better?" Naya mumbled against Heather's lips.

"Because I know you. And aside from the fact that good food always makes you feel better," Heather glanced at the pancakes and with her finger swiped a bit of the whipped cream left on top. She pressed it onto the tip of Naya's nose and they both giggled. "Sometimes you need someone to remind you not to put so much pressure on yourself." She kissed the whipped cream off Naya's nose and licked her lips. "Mm, yummy."

Naya giggled and kissed her back. "I think it's your kisses that make me feel better," she whispered.

"That's cuz my kisses probably taste like whipped cream right now," Heather smiled.

Naya pressed another kiss to her and bounced her brows up in a playful manner. "Mm, yummy."

Naya leaned further into her and continued giving her small, soft kisses. With Heather distracted, Naya covertly reached over to swipe some of the whipped cream onto her finger. She streaked some across Heather's cheek.

"Hey!" Heather laughed out.

Naya licked and kissed the cream off Heather's cheek as Heather continued giggling. Heather swiped the last glob of whipped cream and streaked it across Naya's neck.

"Ah!" The cream was cold on Naya's neck and she let out a yelp that sounded more like a giggle. Heather lunged forward wrapping Naya in her arms, licking and kissing the whipped cream off her neck. Naya's giggling turned into a pleasing little moan as Heather continued down her neck.

Once the whipped cream was completely gone Heather pulled back. "I think we're gonna need more whipped cream."

Both girls smiled wide and then scrambled their way out of the booth of the table, ignoring the remains of their breakfast. Naya excitedly rushed over to the refrigerator and pulled out the aerosol Reddi Wip bottle. She turned around shaking the bottle and saw Heather leaning her hand against the island counter just gazing at her with her eyebrow raised and looking rather seductively captivated.

Naya looked down at herself, a little confused, and then pushed the bridge of her glasses further up her nose as she looked back up to Heather. "What?"

Heather bit down on her lip with a sly little smirk. "Your glasses."

Naya's eyes went wide, suddenly feeling embarrassed and she placed the bottle on the counter. "Oh my God, if we're doing this I am _so_ putting my contacts in." She raced toward the stairs.

"No! Naya!" Heather whined and chased after her.

"No, I look like a dork!" Naya yelped as she bounded up the stairs with Heather just behind her.

Naya rounded the doorframe and swung into her room. She was two steps away from the bathroom when Heather came up behind her and wrapped her arm around Naya's waist, pulling her back. They stumbled backward and landed on Naya's bed with Heather hugging her close.

"You're a _sexy_ dork," Heather whispered into her ear.

"No I'm not," Naya rolled to the side, off of Heather and laying flat on the bed.

Heather quickly reacted and threw her legs over to straddle her, threading her fingers through Naya's and pinning her hands down beside her head on the bed. "Correction. You're _my_ sexy dork." Heather wiggled her hips and smirked.

"It's still dorky." Naya arched her brow.

Heather mirrored Naya and arched her brow back. "You're still sexy."

"Me wearing glasses is not sexy," Naya scoffed.

Heather bent down to whisper into Naya's ear. "But you don't wear them all the time, so when you do, they look sexy…as…fuck." Heather began sucking on Naya's ear.

"Mmm!" A desperate moan escaped Naya's mouth and she squeezed her fingers tight around Heather's hands as her hips rolled up into Heather's.

Heather kissed down Naya's neck and then moved back up to kiss her on the lips. "Now, can we just say I won this argument so I can go back to kissing the crap out of you," Heather whispered as she hovered just over Naya's mouth.

"I like the sound of that," Naya smiled and leaned up to kiss her. Heather's demanding side was out now and Naya found it to be absolutely irresistible.

The marimba ringtone of Naya's iPhone sounded and buzzed on her nightstand. They both ignored it as Naya pressed further into the kiss and ran her hands up Heather's arms and around the back of her neck. She tangled one hand in her blonde hair while Heather dragged her fingers down Naya's torso and to her waist. The marimba ringtone sounded a second time. And Heather pulled her head up.

"It's a text message. If they wanna talk to me they'll call," Naya argued.

Heather pursed her lips to the side. "Still, you should probably see who it is. What if it's something important?"

Naya contemplated it for a moment and then rolled her eyes up, giving in to Heather's logic. "Damnit! I swear, I'm going to bury our phones in the backyard next time."

Heather chuckled and got off of Naya. She sat on the edge of the bed as Naya reached over to the night stand for her phone. She quickly read her new text messages. There were two of them, from Derek. She narrowed her eyes and sat up, intrigued by the messages. Then she turned the phone around in her hand, holding the screen out so Heather could read them.

**Derek:** _**My office. 20 minutes. We need to talk**_

**Derek:** _**And if you're with Heather tell her to call Marcy**_

"Hmm, weird." Heather twisted her mouth in confusion. "Why would he assume I'm with you and then tell me to call my manager?"

"I dunno." Naya set the phone on the bed. "But Derek only does short texts like that if it's something urgent and he's kinda pissed about something."

Heather's face dropped as a realization flashed through her mind. "Oh no. It might be about last night."

Naya's eyes widened and she threw her arm up in the air. "Jesus, what other crazy shit did I do? Did I try to steal something else? Set something on fire?"

"No, no." Heather placed her hand on Naya's knee to calm her. "But…" She was hesitant to say it. "…we got papped on the way out of the club."

"Shit." Naya smacked her palm down on the bed.

"But, it wasn't anything bad. I mean it was just you, me, Kevin and Harry walking out to the car."

"Yeah but Derek always gets so fucking anal about pap photos." Naya picked up her phone and texted Derek back.

_**On my way**_

Heather made a funny pouting face as Naya stood from the bed. Naya scrunched her face and bent down to kiss her. "We are _so_ finishing this later."

"I'll have the whipped cream ready," Heather teased and smacked at Naya's butt as she walked toward the bathroom.

Heather's mouth went into a wide grin as Naya glanced back and pretended to be shocked before continuing on to the bathroom so she could get ready to go meet Derek.

* * *

Naya's left leg, crossed over her right, kept a steady bouncing rhythm as she sat on the couch in Derek's office. She hadn't realized the amount of anticipation that had set in on the drive over until she was forced to sit still. The secretary had told her to wait in Derek's office and his assistant had brought in a fresh bottle of Fiji water for her, however "fresh" a bottle of water can be.

Derek's office was sleek and sophisticated, simple and organized, much to match his personality. Directly across from her was a large window, stretching from floor to ceiling with a high-rise view looking out at various city buildings with the hills behind them. In front of the window and facing opposite of it was a simple black swivel chair that sat behind a large desk with a glass top. On top of the desk was a short black leather file box with some papers in it and a Mac desktop with a swivel monitor. Just to the right on the wall hung two smartly framed Ivy League diplomas and in the corner was a tall stand with some sort of abstract looking sculpture that really just looked like a big, black blob with a hole in it. Naya had been in Derek's office more times than she could count and still didn't quite understand what the sculpture was supposed to be but it had always been there. In front of the desk were two square and contemporary white leather chairs for guests and clients. The wall opposite the window wasn't really a wall but a large frosted glass made to look like a wall. Even the door to the office was frosted glass. The couch Naya was sitting on was positioned against the glass wall and also white leather and contemporary to match the chairs. There was a glass top table made of a stainless steel frame in front of it, facing the desk and window. If Naya didn't know any better she could mistake Derek's office for an Apple store or possibly a surgeon's office.

Out of her peripheral vision and behind the frosted glass, Naya could see the dark color of Derek's suit coming down the hallway and pass behind her, stopping in front of his office door. The sound was somewhat muffled but she could hear Derek finishing up a phone call before he entered the office.

The glass door swung open and Derek entered the room walking tall and with purpose. He wore a tailored navy blue suit with a white collared shirt and an ice blue colored tie. He had an intense and powerful presence that could easily be read as intimidating. Naya had initially perceived him as such but quickly learned that he simply carried himself with an immense amount of pride and confidence. There was a formidable force about him but then again all of these were traits Naya also possessed. One of the reasons Naya had enjoyed working with Derek over the years was that instead of operating on the tension created between two formidable forces, they'd developed a working relationship based on the respect they each held for their shared traits. They were both good at what they did and they knew it. So most of the time they worked in a professional capacity that simply allowed each of them to do their respective jobs to the best of their abilities.

Naya stood up as Derek walked in the room.

He eyed the unopened bottle of Fiji water resting on top of the glass table. "Oh, look at that. Ted actually brought you water," he said sardonically as he crossed the room to stand behind his desk.

"Yeah," Naya crossed the room and leaned against the armrest of one of the white chairs in front of his desk. "New assistant? What happened to Maggie?"

"Some kind of family emergency back in Nebraska," He waved his hand with indifference. "I'm still testing the new guy out." He began clicking the mouse of his computer, intently staring at the screen and obviously searching for something.

"That's too bad. I liked her."

"Yeah, me too. She actually knew how to do her job. _Ted_ on the other hand is one paper cut away from crying his eyes out and running home to mommy. Kid's gonna get eaten alive in this business if he keeps that up."

"Poor kid."

"Well, he's going to sink or learn to swim by the end of the week."

Derek was still standing behind his desk clicking the mouse and staring at his desktop computer. He hadn't looked up once. Whatever it was he wanted to talk to Naya about was holding the majority of his attention while they made small talk.

Naya placed her purse in the seat of one of the square leather chairs and stood up straight with her arms crossed. "Alright so enough chit chat. What's the big emergency?"

Derek looked up from his screen with his brow arched. "I take it you haven't seen this yet." He made one more click and then swiftly turned the monitor around so it faced Naya.

"No. What the hell?"

Naya stepped closer and leaned down to get a good look. On the monitor was a website page with two paparazzi photos side by side and a headliner that read, _'Glee Cheerleader's Wild Night Out.'_ The first picture had Kevin, Harry, Heather and Naya walking out of the club from the night before. Heather and Naya were the focus of the picture. They were holding hands as they waded through what looked like a swarm of paparazzi.

_God, I really do look shit-hammered._

It wasn't until Naya glanced at the second photo that her eyes widened with surprise. She had to do a double take to make sure she was seeing it correctly. It was a closer photo taken from just outside the car with Heather and Naya sitting in the back seat. They were sitting close together. Naya might as well have been sitting in Heather's lap. Naya was still leaning closely into Heather and Heather had her face turned in toward Naya. From the angle of the photo it looked as if they were about to kiss or at the very least it was suggestive of them being incredibly intimate.

Naya forcibly stepped back and waved her arm toward the computer screen. "I don't even remember those photos being taken." She hadn't meant to say that and it slipped out without her thinking. She instantly rolled her eyes at herself.

Derek's eyebrows shot up. "Oh goodie. That makes me feel a whole lot better." He adjusted his stance and crossed his arms.

"Shit," Naya muttered under her breath as her hand reached up to cover over her eyes. She sat down in the chair in a huff.

"There's also a lovely article to go along with it if you'd like to do some light reading. Apparently you two were quite touchy on the dance floor, according to 'insiders' at the club."

Naya's arm smacked down on the armrest as she shot Derek a quick glare, unappreciative of his sarcasm adding insult to injury. She brought her hand to her head again for comfort as Derek sat down in his swivel chair.

With inquisitive eyes set on Naya, Derek sat back in his chair for a moment tapping his finger to his chin and contemplating his next choice of words. He leaned forward with his elbows on the edge of the desk and his hands clasped together. "Are you two dating?" He asked rather bluntly.

"What? Who?" Naya's eyes shot up and she felt her whole body tense up.

"You and the bouncer." Derek sarcastically shrugged. "Who do you think I'm talking about? You and Heather, are you two dating?"

Naya shifted in her seat. "Why-why would you ask that?"

"Oh, I don't know. Call it a hunch."

Naya waved her arm out, gesturing toward the monitor as her voice came out with defensive indignation. "Oh, C'mon! You know those tabloids like to start something out of nothing. I'm sure there were dozens of pictures taken but they chose that one because the angle makes it look like something it's not and it's nothing."

Derek stood up from his chair and walked around to the front of his desk, leaning against it so he was squarely in front of Naya. He crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes, speaking softly but sternly. "Okay, Naya, I need you to be completely honest with me right now."

Naya usually was very honest with Derek. The more honest she was the better he could do his job. However, she remained silent and hesitant with her mouth agape trying to think of a way to avoid the conversation he was leading into, even though she knew it was a conversation that would inevitably happen.

He gave her a moment but it passed in silence, confirming his suspicions. "That's fine. I already know the answer anyway."

Naya was flabbergasted. "Wait, what? How?"

"It's my job to know," Derek said insistently. "And don't think I didn't know about you two skipping out early at that charity event."

Dumbfounded, Naya slumped back in her chair when a thought crossed her mind. "Wait, does Marcy know?"

"About the pap pictures? Yes. And I already spoke with her. I'm sure she'll be meeting with Heather today to discuss the same thing you and I need to discuss."

Naya felt like she'd had the wind knocked out of her. She'd never felt more caught off guard than she had in the past minute and she was still trying to process it.

Derek scrunched his face and brought his hand to his forehead, scratching it for a moment as his thoughts gathered and organized in his head. He took a deep breath and launched into his proposed plan. "Okay, here's how this is going to work. Any sort of public affection, other than 'friendly,' that you two might display goes out the window right now. Also, you need to keep your public outings together to a minimum unless it's a 'Glee' related function, in a group, or a generally unknown or non-descript place. But you especially need to avoid being seen together in highly public places where people can acutely observe you two and tweet about it or take a photo. Prime example?" He gestured toward the photos still up on the monitor. "The opening night of a highly anticipated and marketed club. Something like that is going to be on the 'No Go' list. The main thing here is we want to avoid photos. Also-"

"Wait!" Naya forcibly cut him off. "You're basically saying I can't go anywhere with my girlfriend. There's nothing wrong with it." She snapped at him.

Derek threw his hands up in front of his face in a defensive manner. "Whoa. I didn't say there was anything wrong with it. In fact I think you two would make a great couple."

"Then why all the rules? If I wanna go out with my girlfriend, I'm gonna go out with my girlfriend." Naya's voice remained grounded and commanding but her head was in a tailspin trying to take in all the new limits he had just proposed.

Derek became overwhelmingly solemn, speaking slowly and assertively. "Naya, you need to tread very carefully with this. This could potentially be a PR nightmare and there's only so much damage control I can do."

"Damage? What damage? It's two people dating." She disputed.

Derek knit his brows together, thinking carefully. "Do you remember what I asked you when we first started working together?"

Naya tried thinking back to that time. When she remembered she casually responded. "Yeah, you asked me where I saw myself with my career in ten years."

"And you said you wanted to be on your way to being a leading actress in Hollywood with at least one top-selling album under your belt."

Naya nodded and sat forward in her chair, intrigued and at the same time hesitant to see where he was going with this.

Derek continued to explain further. "Now Glee has been a great springboard for you. There's no denying that. You have an audience now. And your performance in this last episode that aired, particularly and ironically enough, your performance in the scene with you and Heather by the locker, it has people talking. It's creating a lot of good buzz for you. If the writers decide to delve deeper into this storyline and you keep pulling off performances like that then this could be a major opportunity for you. It can open up a lot of doors for your career."

"Okay, but what does that have to do with me dating Heather?" Naya knew where his line of reasoning was going now and she shook her head in an ill-fated attempt to push the thought of it away.

"C'mon Naya. You're smart. I know you can connect the dots. You're just avoiding it."

Naya stared down at the floor. After a moment she finally slumped all the way back in the chair in defeat. "Who I date shouldn't have any bearing on my career," she said disheartened.

"But in the world we live in, it does." Derek spoke gently to quell her low spirits but he was firm in his statement nonetheless. "The fact of the matter is you have a lot at stake here. You can't afford bad press or even rumors and God knows how the press would spin this if they ever got any type of confirmation."

Naya rolled her eyes. "Yeah, the whole egging rumor with Mark was a PR shitfest."

"And if you think that was a shitfest, a confirmation of your dating Heather would be even worse now, simply because A) she 's a girl, and B) you're starting to gain a wider audience." He was re-enforcing his point and his voice became much more stern. "Not only could public knowledge of this jeopardize your chances for future roles but you'd have the press on your ass about it. And it's not just the Hollywood press you'd have to worry about spinning it the wrong way. You're talking about the conservative homophobic religious right weighing their opinion in on it."

With renewed vigor fueled by irritation, Naya stood up from her chair and threw her hands in the air. "Why? Because it's against their beliefs? Those stodgy old men shouldn't care about my private life anyway and worry more about their own." She began pacing back and forth in front of the couch. Naya's irritation and resistance grew with each passing moment and Derek's voice became more assertive the more resistant Naya got.

"It's against their beliefs but more importantly all of their teenage daughters more than likely watch your show every week wishing they were in your shoes and call it a wild guess but I don't think most of middle America is going to approve of their daughters choosing a lesbian actress as a role model."

"Bi-sexual!"

"Either way, the general public will vilify you!"

Naya stopped and looked up trying to think of any way to counter his argument.

"…and Heather!" Derek added.

That was the nail in the coffin for Naya. She understood everything he was saying and they were all valid points that she continually wanted to fight, but she couldn't bear the thought of all of this negatively effecting Heather too, and on such a public scale. She sat down on the couch, once again defeated, and hung her head in her hands.

Derek took a moment to regain his composure. He looked at Naya with sympathy for the situation she now found herself in but he had a job to do. He had to advise her to make the best possible decision in service of her career.

He walked to the couch and sat down next to Naya, leaning forward with his elbows resting on his knees. The tone of his voice was much gentler than it had been a moment ago but just as insistent. "I know. It sucks but this is the reality we live in, Naya. Audiences are fickle. It's one thing to represent those stories on fictional television but the second people know that it's real, you're going to be dealt a whole new set of playing cards that are not going to work in your favor. I wish it wasn't that way but it is."

Naya sniffled and brought her head up, running her hand through her hair. "Do you seriously think all of that would happen if people knew that Heather and I were dating?"

"Listen, I can't predict the future. I can't guarantee if all of that would happen or not. Most of that is worst case scenario…But part of my job and part of the reason why you hired me is to foresee those kind of possibilities, and work to prevent them so that your career has as few bumps in the road as possible, so you can continue to work toward a successful career."

Dejected and frustrated, Naya sat back on the couch crossing her arms in her lap. "I hate this. Why is it such a big deal? I mean, I understand what you're saying but look at Ellen and Portia or Jane! It's not like I can't be successful if I'm dating a girl."

Derek shook his head back and forth before continuing his point. "But you don't want to be a talk show host or a comedienne. _You_ want to be on the big screen, winning Oscars for being the leading actress in whatever epic drama Martin Scorsese is filming next and you want to have hit songs topping the charts."

Naya leaned forward again, pressing her palms to her forehead. She shut her eyes, thinking of the career she'd always dreamt of having.

Derek continued trying to be as gentle but also as firm as possible as he spoke. "If you want the best opportunity for that spotlight, the opportunities that you hired me to help you cultivate then you need to appeal to a wide audience. And I'm sorry but a young, lesbian audience is a niche market that just isn't going to cut it for the type of career you want."

With her head down, Naya tried as discreetly as possible to wipe a tear that had formed at the corner of her eye.

"I'm on your side here. I don't want your personal life to get screwed over. I want you to be happy. But more importantly I want you to be able to have the stellar career that you always envisioned yourself having. So please, let me do my job and help you balance the two."

Naya took a deep and audible breath as she nodded her head up and down.

"So you'll listen to me? Take my advice and follow it?"

Naya opened her eyes and stared into the ground, not wanting to deal with the reality presented to her.

"Naya?"

"Yes! Jesus! Okay." She popped her head up out of her hands and sat back on the couch again. "I don't like it but…I'll do it." Her voice was harsh.

Derek reached for the bottle of water on the table and held it out for her to take. She rolled her eyes and he gave her a warm smile as she swiped the bottle from his hand.

* * *

Naya's hand kept rapdily balling up into a fist and releasing as she walked through the parking garage to her car. She slammed the door shut as she sat down in the driver's seat. She didn't turn the car on right away and just sat there for a moment, staring forward out the windshield and thinking of all the new limits and instructions Derek had just given her in his office.

She hated being forced into a situation where it now became a priority for her to hide something. Derek had, in a sense, asked her to go to great lengths to keep up a lie, to construct a facade in order to effectively hide any trace of the feelings she had for someone she loved. And she had willingly agreed, all for the sake of her career.

Suddenly she burst into a fit of kicking and shoving at the floor of the car. _Thud-thud-thud._ She violently smacked at her steering wheel and then pressed her forehead down to it, pinching her eyes shut and drawing in a deep breath.

She gripped the bottom of the steering wheel and continued taking in deep, heavy breaths. Eventually she felt herself settling into a calm rhythm. Once she felt steady enough she began to speak aloud in a low voice with a mantra that she hoped to find comfort in at this moment.

"10% of life is what happens to you. 90% is how you react to it. The measure of how well you carry yourself through life is the attitude with which you approach it."

She repeated it to herself a few times, taking her time with the words, speaking slowly and steadily.

Hearing those words out loud was at least comforting, but it didn't solve her dilemma. She was still unclear about how to approach this particular scenario. Was the glass half-empty or was the glass half-full? She didn't know. Heather and her had finally reached a point where they were ready to explore the emotional depth they had for one another. But she also knew that she was at a tipping point with her career. She wasn't about to give up Heather but she wasn't about to give up the opportunity to kick-start the career she always wanted either.

_I can do both. I can have both, right? I can do it. People do it all the time. It might be a more difficult balancing act to execute but I can balance the two. I can have it all, can't I?_

She sat back in her seat with her head hitting the headrest and staring out the windshield again. She thought of those pictures from the article, the thing that started this whole mess. She thought that maybe if she were actually coherent walking out of that club instead of drunk off her ass she could've done something. She didn't know what she could've done but at least she would've had some sense about her instead of being such a mess.

But the truth was that it wasn't anyone's fault and Naya knew it. Sure the paparazzi could be annoying and invasive and they probably chose to run those pictures because it was more gossip worthy than the rest. But it wasn't Naya's fault that those pictures were taken and it wasn't Heather's fault either. It was just another night out at a club in an instance where Naya had one too many and Heather was just trying to take care of her.

_Crap! Heather! She's not ready for anything that that article was insinuating. Not such a public display like that. I mean they were only speculating and it'll probably be forgotten by tomorrow but still, she's not ready for that. Hell, I'm not ready for that either._

Naya turned the engine of her car over and quickly backed out of the parking space. The engine roared as she sped out of the parking garage headed straight for Heather's house.

* * *

A/N: I just want to re-iterate that all events that do not take place within a recorded episode of Glee are purely fictional. Since this is set in the recent past, I'll be twisting reality for the purposes of this story, especially in regards to media-related events. So certain interactions with the media will take place in this story that did not _actually_ happen. There is a purpose for it though.

I don't know when the next chapter will be up since I'll be driving cross-country all next week but I already have some of the next chapter written. I'll try to have it up as soon as I possibly can.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.

P.S.- Reviews are awesome. Lol, I know I'm fishing but I just thought I'd put it out there. :)


	11. When We're Together

**A/N:** Sorry for the wait. Moving cross-country has been time consuming. I hope you all enjoy this chapter while I work on the next one. Happy reading :)

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch. 11 When We're Together**

Heather was curled up in the rolly chair sitting in front of the desk in her living room. She had her knees tucked up to her chest and her arms wrapped around her legs. She let out a shaky sigh and buried her face into her legs with her eyes popping up just over her knees. Her body was shaking as she stared at the paparazzi photos of her and Naya on the computer screen in front of her.

She never wanted any type of individual spotlight on her. She just wanted to work. She just wanted to keep dancing and making funny movies. When Glee had gained overnight popularity she got a lot more spotlight than she imagined and she had made a deal with herself to not be concerned with any tabloid, gossip, or public opinion. She never kept up with the rumor mill, never paid any attention to online opinion or gossip. She didn't want to know about it. It was more inhibiting than beneficial to her. And although she tended to make a joke out of pop culture's fascination with the personal lives of celebrities, she actually loathed the idea of the details of someone's personal life being up for public consumption, like buying pieces of someone at a supermarket that you could take home, use, and then throw away.

Despite her opinion on it, she normally didn't have a problem with the paparazzi. They would sporadically show up in her day-to-day life and generally if she just let them take a few casual pictures they would leave her alone. She figured it was just something that came with the territory that she would have to learn to deal with. And like most of the more absurd and ridiculous things in show business, she dealt with it by finding a way to make a joke out of it and brush it off. If she could laugh about it then it wouldn't feel like something she should worry about. However, staring at those photos, she felt like it was too personal to be a laughing matter. It was personal enough for her to break her rule of not reading the gossip rags.

She had obsessively read the article a few times through. The tabloid reporters had assumed both of them were drunk and made a passing comment, a joke really, asking a question of comparison on the relationship of their characters on Glee to their real lives. They'd chalked it up to a night of debauched experimentation deduced from unrevealed sources and a lucky photo chosen specifically to support the suggestion.

The insinuation was made in jest and left open ended, up for interpretation, but it made Heather's skin crawl. It made her feel like the whole world somehow knew about her and Naya and everyone was out to expose them. Exposed. That's how Heather felt. Like a bad dream when you're walking naked down the main street of town like you're some sort of freakish parade float for everyone to gawk at. The whole scenario of a casual night out made into a gossip worthy story was unpleasant to say the least, even if in this instance it was just mild and joking speculation.

_Manipulative assholes. Naya was drunk. She was tired. She was just cuddling up next to me when we got in the car. She gets shy around paparazzi. Of course I was going to hold her hand through that mob of cameras. And Kevin was holding her hand too. But they didn't print that picture did they? They just wanna sell more magazines and get more hits on their site. Why are they pushing the topic anyway? Why do they have to go and suggest it? Even if it is true, that we're a little more involved than people think. It's none of their fucking business. And it's not a joke either. _

She impulsively picked up a loose pen lying on the desk and flicked it toward the computer screen. It bounced off and hit the floor.

"Shit," Heather hissed. It looked like the pen had knicked the edge of the screen. She leaned forward and ran her thumb across it, making sure that no damage was done.

She sniffled and then curled up in her chair again, tightening her embrace around her legs as she brought her head down to rest her forehead on her knees. She felt like her whole body was caving in on itself in a form of self-protection so she could lock up everything inside of her, so no one could take anything away. How her and Naya felt about each other, what they did together, it was theirs, no one else's. The idea that their relationship could be up for scrutiny and consumption, and on such a grand scale, left her with this curling sort of pang in the pit of her stomach like someone had punched her and kept jabbing at her there and she was helpless to stop it.

She pinched her eyes shut as tight as she could and began rocking her body weight back and forth.

_It'll be alright, right? Everything will be alright. If we do what Marcy said and just keep everything hidden. Be aware of where we are and what we're doing. Be sneaky about it. I mean we have to now, right? That's what Marcy said. Maybe it'll be better that way. Yeah, it'll be better. So it doesn't blow up in our faces. So Naya can have all the opportunities she deserves. So I can keep making movies and making people laugh and do all the things I wanna do and people can focus on that instead of my private life. So the fact that we're two girls won't be the only thing they see. They won't see it at all because we'll keep it a secret. And we can stay together and everything can stay perfect just the way it is, like in our snow globe. It can just be ours. Yeah, it'll be better this way. No one has to know. No one has to find out. No one has to go ruining it or disapproving of it. And Naya can go on and conquer the world. I know she will. She's too good not to have everything she ever wanted and everything she's worked for. And I'll go on doing my thing while I'm just secretly at her side. Secretly. So all her hard work and talent isn't ripped away from her. I don't think I could forgive myself if that happened._

She heard the metal clicking and rattle of the front door unlocking and she immediately popped her head up from her knees and whipped it back to look at the door. It was starting to creak open. She immediately turned back to the computer screen and quickly clicked out of the website before swiveling around in the chair to face the door. Reid was having a hard time stumbling in through the front door with his hands full of grocery bags and trying to get his keys out of the lock.

"Hey," he casually nodded toward Heather.

"Hey," she said quietly. She was absentmindedly staring at one of the grocery bags as Reid fumbled with the keys in the door. It took her a moment to snap back into reality and she shook her head rapidly for a second as she stood up to help Reid with the groceries. She walked over to him and grabbed a few bags and started taking them to the kitchen.

"Thanks," Reid sighed as he entered the kitchen and set his bags down.

Heather nodded and started pulling the grocery items out of the bags to put away.

"I think my key sticks in that door. We should try and get a new lock or something." He started putting away the groceries.

Heather remained focused on pulling the groceries out and didn't look up. "This house is old. All of our keys stick," she sharply replied, a little more forcefully than normal.

Reid cocked his eyebrow at her response as he picked up a cereal box to put away. "Rough night last night?"

Heather shot her head up with her mouth slightly agape, not knowing how to answer. "Uh…" It took her a moment to think of what to say before she turned her attention back to the grocery bags. "No, just, ya know, another night out."

"Well how was the club? Was it everything it was hyped up to be?"

"It was a club. Just another stupid club." She aggressively began folding up one of the empty fabric grocery bags and shoved it onto the counter. She went to grab another one but abruptly stopped, placing a hand on her hip and narrowing her eyes toward Reid. "How'd you know I was there?"

"Oh, uh…" Reid finished putting the last of the groceries away. "Ashley mentioned it."

Heather took a second and then nodded her head before picking up another fabric grocery bag to fold.

"And those pap photos showed up in my twitter feed," Reid casually added as he reached for a bottle of water in the fridge.

Heather pinched her eyes shut and shoved the palms of her hands into the fabric of the folded bag so they pressed down all the way to the hard counter top. She shook her head and looked back at Reid with narrowed eyes once again. "Since when do you read tabloids, Mister 'journalistic integrity?'"

"Eh," Reid shrugged. "Guilty pleasure." He took another swig from his bottle of water and started walking out of the kitchen. "I'm out again. See ya later."

Heather heard the front door shut and finally let out a sigh of relief. She tossed the folded grocery bag onto the counter and crossed her arms, leaning back on the edge of the counter. She blankly stared toward the ground as her hand kept impulsively tightening around her arm. She didn't know how long she stood there. It was like her mind was doing everything in it's power to will time into stopping and rewinding to a point where none of this ever happened. No night out at the club. No paparazzi pictures. None of this exposed feeling that was ripping at the pit of her stomach. As if she were trying to convince herself that if she made herself completely still, doing nothing, it might actually work.

Knock-knock-knock-knock-knock

Heather jumped at the abrupt and loud sound of the knocking on the door and her eyes fluttered back to reality. She sighed and shrugged off the edge of the counter, making her way toward the door.

"Did you forget something?" she wearily called out.

When she swung the door open she saw Naya standing there emanating with a sense of worry. Heather immediately propelled herself forward, wrapping her arms around Naya's shoulders and neck, practically pummeling her in a desperate and tight hug.

Naya stumbled back slightly and then willed her whole body to remain strong and sturdy, wrapping her arms around Heather as if she were the only thing holding her up.

It was startling, Heather jumping at her like that. Naya had logically anticipated Heather to be incredibly timid around her again since finding out about the tabloid story and she was prepared for a small readjustment period for Heather to feel comfortable with her again. She didn't think Heather would so readily embrace her with such yearnful and longing ease. Heather was holding on to her like the world might come to an end if she let go.

In that moment, Naya finally understood what Heather had been trying to tell her that morning; Being with her wasn't what Heather was so scared of. It was everything outside of them that terrified her.

Naya smiled softly and began stroking the back of Heather's head and down her blonde hair. She let out a sigh of relief that seemed to rid her body of some of the tension that had built up on the drive over from Derek's office.

Heather could feel Naya's warm breath on her neck and squeezed her eyes shut while simultaneously tightening her embrace. With Naya soothingly stroking her head and her arms around her, Heather felt a rush of warmth and comfort permeate through her body. She suddenly felt a little lighter, like for the first time that afternoon she could finally get a refreshing and much needed full breath of air. There was something about Naya's presence alone that put Heather at ease.

"It's okay. Everything's gonna be fine," Naya spoke softly. She gently stroked Heather's hair a few more times as Heather nuzzled her head a little closer into Naya's neck. "C'mon," Naya patted Heather's back. "Let's get inside."

Heather nodded and then sniffled before pulling back. She threaded her fingers through Naya's as they made their way inside. Heather shut and locked the door behind them before they both sat down on the couch, all the while Heather made sure to never let go of Naya's hand. It was like she needed to feel her next to her or else the walls would start caving in again.

Naya sat down facing Heather with one leg bent in on top of the couch and the other dangling off the side, their hands resting gently on her knee. Heather curled her knees up to her chest again as she watched Naya's thumb rub slowly back and forth across the skin of her hand.

Naya's eyes were also turned downward at their hands. Feeling Heather's skin under hers, even if it was just a small fraction of it, was soothing. Heather somehow had that calming effect on her, which made it just a bit easier to start talking about the elephant in the room, even though she had no clue where to start.

Naya took in a shaky breath and looked up to Heather. "So you talked to Marcy?"

Heather calmly nodded with somber eyes.

"And you saw the photos with the story?"

Heather nodded again and tilted her head to rest sideways at the top of her knees before her eyes flitted up to meet Naya's. "How was your meeting with Derek?"

"Fine," Naya let out a disgruntled sigh and leaned sideways, resting her head on the couch. "He was a little pissed…" With her free hand she brought her fingers up to rub at her temple. She had a headache just thinking about her meeting with Derek. "…and he gave me all these PR instructions." She let her hand dejectedly drop down to her lap again.

"So did Marcy…" Heather nodded again, knowing the sentiment. "No overly public places, no photos, no P.D.A." Heather raised her head up and looked down at their hands again. "She said it might be damaging to—"

"Yeah, yeah," Naya cut her off and sat up again, rolling her eyes at the entire scenario in question. "I got the whole speech from Derek too." She didn't want to re-live it and only hoped that Heather didn't get the lashing of possible negative outcomes that Derek had given her.

Heather didn't know what to say so she said the first comment that popped into her head. "I think they game-planned together."

Heather figured both of them had received the same instructions but she didn't quite know what Naya's reaction would be to it. She knew she might be angry, or over-analyze things, or maybe even go the other way and be totally pragmatic and agree with all of those instructions. But what if out of all of that, God forbid, she wanted to reconsider their relationship? They were just getting started. Heather felt like she had an endless well inside of her, full of all these feelings for Naya. Feelings she wanted to draw out. Feelings she knew would never go away now that they were there. What if Naya chose what was best for her career, her public image, and decided to call the whole thing off? Heather knew this wasn't just a mere fling for Naya but there was still an outside chance that Naya would do what was best for her career. She was always driving her career forward at full speed. So, what if? Heather winced at the idea of that well of emotion inside of her being capped, never to see the light of day.

Naya was trying her best to hold in the frustration that was threatening to burst out of her but it was of no use. Like a teapot boiling over, Naya erupted from the couch, threw her arms up and began pacing. "This is so not fair! It's bullshit! We should be able to go out together. If people don't like it then tough shit."

Heather's eyes widened and she popped her head up at full attention. "Wait, so we're not going to stop? Even if it's not good for-"

"What?" Naya stopped dead in her tracks, taken off guard by the question. "Why would we stop?" She instantly grew concerned and her shoulders sunk down. "I mean unless…unless you wanted to—"

"No. No no no," Heather rapidly waved her hands in front of her, rejecting the idea. "I don't want to stop. It was just something Marcy suggested. That it might be easier if we weren't together at all, besides work stuff," Heather shrugged. She looked down at her fingers as she started nervously knitting them together. She was hesitant with her next words. "I mean, I didn't know if you wanted to re-think—"

"No. No no, of course not." Naya quickly made for the couch and sat closely next to Heather, her eyes willing Heather to look up at her. "Things would definitely not be easier. That's just…" At that pause, Heather finally looked up at her but Naya was shaking her head with here eyes pinched shut, trying to rid the idea of not being with Heather from her mind. When her brown eyes turned up again, Heather could see the depth of her sincerity. "No, it's going to take a lot more than a pap photo and a badly written article to make me consider not being with you."

A smile graced Heather's lips. "Me too."

Naya threaded her fingers through Heather's, holding tighter this time. She wasn't about to let any of her feelings for Heather be cast off in the wind for the sake of easier career management.

However, the entire situation was still frustrating. That frustration reached her voice once more, but with more control. "I mean it's never been a problem before. People seeing us together. They could've just said no P.D.A., which would've been fine, but now we have to be all sneaky about where we go?"

Naya abruptly stopped when she noticed a mirrored frustration and a certain measure of hesitancy in Heather's eyes.

Heather sniffled and buried her head in her knees. "Would you be mad if I said that I'm actually kinda glad we have to keep it a secret for now?" Heather popped her head up again, her eyes more somber than before as pools of water began to form. "Like, I think this whole thing sucks too. I want us to be able to go out and do stuff together, but…I don't think I can handle-" her voice cracked and she gulped as her eyes shuddered.

Naya gently cupped her hands around Heather's face and Heather snaked her fingers around Naya's wrist. Heather could see deep into Naya's eyes, filled with reassurance, and Naya could see deep into Heather's, straining with worry and pleading for things to be less complicated. But behind all of that and despite the difficult scenario they now found themselves in, when they had such a gentle and loving touch with each other, when they looked into each other's eyes, there was comfort there. There was comfort in knowing that both of them could feel so connected with one look, one touch. There was comfort in knowing that their feelings were safe within one another. There was comfort in knowing that things would always be better so long as they were together.

Naya ran her thumb across Heather's cheek and Heather nuzzled her head into Naya's hand, feeling so safe and secure with her so close.

A warm smile crossed Naya's lips as she gently spoke. "No. No, I wouldn't be mad at you." She raised her lips to Heather's forehead, placing a soft kiss there. "I don't think I could ever be mad at you."

Heather smiled and moved into Naya's side, resting her head on her shoulder as Naya wrapped her arm behind Heather, pulling her in close.

Their hands rested comfortably in Naya's lap as Heather threaded her fingers through Naya's once again. "You really wanted to do, like, official dates and stuff though."

Naya began to soothingly trace her fingers up and down Heather's arm. "Yeah, I mean, I don't want the whole world getting in our business, and I know you definitely don't want that either. But I also wanted things to be normal, ya know, like even if we just wanted to go out to dinner. The way Derek was talking, it's like we can't even do that." Naya let out a deep and defeated sigh as she looked down at their entwined fingers resting in her lap. "And I was really looking forward to our fancy date."

Heather let out a soft chuckle. "Yeah, I was really looking forward to that too."

"I had a place in mind and everything."

"Really?" Heather perked her head up. "You already picked out a restaurant?"

A sheepish little smile appeared on Naya's face as she removed her arm from around Heather. She tucked a strand of her brown hair behind her ear. "I've kinda been thinking about it for a while now."

Heather's smile widened at how adorable Naya looked whenever she got shy about things. "Well what kind of place is it?"

"It's this lounge type place I went to once. I didn't go in the back area. It was like V.I.P. or something, but I got a glimpse of it and I just remember it looking really intimate with private booths and candlelit tables and stuff. And there was this piano guy in the corner playing a really cool jazzy sort of tune. I just remember it looking really romantic. I mean, it would've been perfect."

"That sounds really nice actually."

"Yeah," Naya's eyes averted downward. "And now we can't even go out on regular dates, let alone something like that," she said dejectedly.

Heather's face fell as she saw Naya's enthusiasm deflate. "You really wanted to do the fancy date thing, didn't you?"

Naya nervously shrugged and her eyes began to flit up and down. "Yeah, ya know, I just like that whole idea of courtship. Like making an event out of it. An event just for the two of us. I like the grandeur of it."

Heather glanced down at their hands and she began rubbing her thumb across Naya's soft skin. If someone asked her to articulate the feeling she got when Naya held her hand, she didn't know if she could accurately describe it. It was a simple gesture really, but filled with so much more than the simple contact of skin. Things didn't feel so nerve-wracking when she was with Naya. Just the idea, the suggestion, of their relationship being open to the public, was terrifying. But somehow, with Naya there holding her hand, knowing that they were in it _together_, it put Heather at ease. As long as they were together. Just her presence alone rid Heather of about half the anxiety she felt earlier. Something about Naya fueled her strength to see a positive outcome, that between the two of them they would be able to pull off the difficult task of keeping their relationship a secret while maintaining a certain measure of normalcy. That everything would work in their favor.

Heather took a deep breath and looked back up at Naya with a renewed sense of confidence. "Well, if you really want to, that place you were talking about sounds private enough. We can give it a try."

"Really? You're still up for it?" Naya was happily surprised.

"Yeah," Heather shrugged. "I mean we'll just have to be kind of sneaky about it, right? Like Marcy and Derek said." Heather spoke with assurance and determination. She was proud of the fact that she could will herself to see some sort of solution, like she was solving a math problem. "And if it's a V.I.P. kind of area like you're talking about then I'm sure the wait staff wouldn't be able to say anything. And if it's not a celebrity hot spot then I doubt there's going to be any paparazzi guys there."

A wide smile helplessly spread across Naya's face and she leaned in to give Heather a kiss. "Have I ever told you how much I love your optimism?"

Heather instantly smiled. Maybe everything really would be okay. If they believed in it enough, if they kept looking on the brighter side of things, if they kept working with what they had to make the best of it, everything would turn out fine.

* * *

Dianna was sitting Indian style in the comfy armchair in the corner of Naya's room next to the dresser. She was drawing a sad face into the white center of a big 'zero' she'd drawn onto a piece of loose leaf paper. Earlier Naya had been in a panic and called Dianna over to help her choose an outfit for her big date with Heather that night. Naya had raided her whole closet, trying and re-trying on an assortment of different dresses, skirts, tops, and shoes. Clothes had been flung onto the bed and floor as she oscillated between dislike, utter hatred, and the steady second-guessing of all her various choices. Everything just seemed sub-par.

Dianna had tried to keep things organized in the process but it was of no use. So she decided to turn the whole thing into a fashion show and created scorecards to accompany her opinion on various outfits, occasionally putting on a Simon Cowell accent if she really disliked the fashion choice.

On the balls of her feet Naya padded through the doorway of the bathroom and stood next to her bed. Dianna looked up and her eyes widened as a smile spread across her face. She shuffled through her loose leaf scorecards and enthusiastically nodded up and down as she held up a paper with the number '10' written in bold black sharpie.

"That one! Sue me if you don't get any tonight in that dress."

Naya shot her a dissuading look. "Di, it's not like that. Not yet anyway." She quizzically titled her head to the side and her voice softened. "At least I don't _think_ that's going to happen tonight." She said it more to herself than to Dianna.

Dianna rolled her eyes. "You know what I mean. _That_ is by far the best thing you've tried on in the past half hour."

Naya nervously twirled around looking down at her dress. She was wearing a tight, form-fitting one shoulder red dress that cut off just above her knees. "I just wanna look good for her. Does this look good?" Naya was talking frantically, constantly looking down at her dress and back up at Dianna. "Fuck, I should've had this figured out already. Not an hour before I have to pick her up."

"Relaaaax. I'm fully confident that Heather won't dump you based solely on what you wear."

"I just want everything to be perfect," Naya kept looking down at her dress, smoothing out the material with her hands.

Dianna stood up from the chair and walked over to Naya, placing her hands firmly on Naya's shoulders to stop her nervous twirling. Naya stopped and snapped her eyes up.

Dianna spoke calmly but firmly. "Calm down. Relax. Breathe."

Naya closed her eyes and shook her hands out to the side as she took in a deep breath. She released it slowly, letting some of her nervous energy dissipate with it.

"Everything will be fine." Dianna kept her voice steady.

Naya opened her eyes and she felt much better. Her shoulders sunk down a bit as the tension released like the weight of her own perfectionist tendencies had been temporarily lifted.

_Di's so good at this stuff. I'm glad she could come over and help me out with this._

"Thanks for doing this," Naya was soft-spoken. "I'm a wreck."

"Anytime," Dianna smiled and dropped her hands from Naya's shoulders. "And you're gonna be fine. Just be you. Heather's going to love tonight no matter what."

A relieved and excited grin crossed Naya's face. "Okay. I'll wear this one then."

"You better. I don't hand out Tens easily."

Naya playfully rolled her eyes but then laughed as she went back into the bathroom to finish putting on her make-up and styling her hair.

Dianna made her way back toward the chair. "And I know for a fact that she likes red on you," she commented nonchalantly and waved her hand in the air. "…amongst other colors. She won't be able to keep her hands off you in that."

Naya poked her head out of the bathroom doorway to see Dianna settling back into her seat. "Hold up. How do you know that?"

"You're not the only one I'm a confidant for," Dianna said as if it were clearly obvious. "I was on the phone with her earlier. She's really excited about tonight and she couldn't shut up about you."

"Wait, you talked to her? About me?" Naya's eyebrows shot upward with intrigue. "What'd she say?"

"That's between me and her. I'm not getting stuck between the two of you in a game of telephone. If she wants to tell you how she feels, she will."

"Oh c'mon!" Naya whined like a five year old. "You're not gonna tell me? Even just a little?"

"Trust me. You have nothing to worry about. Just be _you_. It's the main reason she likes you, which if you ask me is how every relationship should start off. That's all I'm saying." Dianna wiped her hands clean of the argument and sat back in the chair, gathering the pile of loose leaf paper in her lap.

Naya crossed her arms and scrunched her face as she leaned back against the doorjamb. She was intrigued to know what Heather had said but she also knew Dianna was right. She shouldn't be asking her to be a middleman. She was already being an amazing enough friend as it was. Both Heather and Naya could trust her to be supportive and keep everything a secret, which as far as friends go was the biggest blessing in the world at the moment.

"You're a good friend, ya know that Di?" Naya gave a warm and appreciative smile. "I mean, I think you're like our number one supporter right now."

"Honestly, I don't know how I didn't see it before but you two actually make a great couple. Not just in a 'oh those two would get along' kind of way but as far as a legit relationship goes. You're crazy about each other in the best way possible. It just makes sense."

Naya tilted her head to the side. "How? I mean, why does it make sense to you? I'm just curious." Naya held Dianna's opinion in high regard. She always made keen observations about people, so Naya was genuinely curious as to what she thought.

Dianna scrunched her mouth to the side and squinted her eyes a little, trying to find the right words. She eventually shook her head, failing to find a precise and accurate way to describe what she saw in them. "I dunno. It just does," she resolutely stated. "It's hard to describe. I just know it when I see it, and when I see you two together now, it just…makes sense."

Dianna had a way with words. She was very articulate and charismatic and had a much more impressive vocabulary than most. She was also getting the play-by-play from both sides. If _she_ couldn't find a way to articulate what she saw then it really must have been hard to describe.

"Fair enough." Naya nodded in acceptance of Dianna's answer and ducked back into the bathroom.

Dianna grabbed a magazine off the dresser and placed the now neat pile of loose leaf scorecards in its stead. She crossed her legs to sit Indian style in the chair again and began casually flipping through the magazine. "So you're sure where you're going tonight will be private enough?"

"Yep," Naya raised her voice a little so Dianna could hear her from the bathroom vanity area. "I ran it by Derek. He said it shouldn't be a problem but if we run into any trouble to give him a call immediately."

"Well if you need a getaway car I'm sure Chord could manage to break about ten different speeding laws getting there," Dianna casually joked.

"Uh…" Naya paused and there was a silence as Dianna flipped another page in the magazine. "Chord doesn't know yet," Naya said quickly like she was ripping off a bandaid.

"What? Naya, it's Chord!" Dianna dropped the magazine in her lap. "And you haven't told him?"

Naya quickly tried to come up with a halfway logical excuse. "It's not like we're sending out engagement announcements. We don't have to tell everyone we know."

"But it's Chord," Dianna pressed. "If there were anyone who would be in your corner cheering you on more than me, it would be him. He'd be happy. For _both_ of you. He loves you two like family. It's not like he's going to tell anyone."

"I know, I know," Naya felt a bit guilty. "It's just, Heather wanted to keep things quiet and then shit really hit the fan with the tabloid thing. I just figured that for now the less people that know the better."

"Alright well tell me who knows and who doesn't so I don't go accidentally gabbing it to someone."

Naya poked her head out of the doorway again. "You wouldn't!"

"No, of course not," Dianna rolled her eyes and dismissed the notion. "It's not like I'm gossiping about you two but I thought you would've at least told Chord. What are you going to do once we get back from hiatus? It'll be a lot tougher to keep it a secret once we're back on set."

"I know, I know," Naya nodded. "We'll just…we'll figure that part out when we get to it." She waved her hand up and returned to the mirror in the bathroom.

There was silence for a moment as Dianna waited for Naya to answer her earlier question. Realizing that Naya had forgotten about it, she asked again. "So who knows?"

"You, Kevin, Derek and Marcy, and I'm pretty sure Mark knows," Naya calmly stated. She was content with that list of people for now. "I think he just assumed we got together after what happened at Kevin's place."

"Wait, so not even Ashley knows?" Dianna arched her brow.

"Nope."

"Wow," Dianna's eyebrows shot up and she titled her head. "Good luck with that one. How has she not already figured it out?"

Naya poked her head out of the doorway again. "Why do you think Heather comes over here all the time?"

"No roommates, so you can be as loud as you want," Dianna teasingly joked.

Naya shot her glare.

Dianna retracted and threw her hands up defensively. "Kidding. I'm kidding."

Naya's phone buzzed on top of the dresser. It was a text message. "Can you check that for me?" She nodded her head in the direction of the phone and ducked back into the bathroom.

Dianna got up and walked to the other side of the dresser where the phone was and read the text message. "It's from 'Harry's Flowers.' Your scheduled delivery arrived."

"Perfect. Right on time," Naya cheerfully boasted.

"You had flowers delivered to her house?" Dianna rested her hand on her hip and narrowed her eyes. "Won't that be a little suspicious if Reid or Ashley answers the door?"

"Ashley's out at a show with friends tonight and Reid's at some journalism seminar all day with some type of networking party afterward that should go well into the evening," Naya coolly answered.

"And how do you know that?"

"You know there _are_ ways to divulge information from people without explicitly letting them know why you're asking." Naya gave herself a little smirk, slightly proud of how crafty she had been.

Dianna set the phone down and shook her head. "It's scary knowing how you work sometimes."

"Gotta cover all my bases." Naya stepped out of the bathroom to stand in the space beside her bed. "Okay, how do I look?"

Dianna turned to see her. Naya had on her red dress, which hugged her curves with just the right amount of grace, and a pair of heels that showed her tan legs off well. Her make-up was soft, letting the natural beauty of her face glow, except for her eyes, which popped with a vivacious depth and intensity. Parted to the side, her layered hair elegantly draped down, crossing her forehead and a bit her cheek, as the rest of her long, dark hair hung down over her shoulders with a soft curl at the ends.

"Stunning." A proud smile of overwhelming amazement formed on Dianna's face. "Heather's a lucky girl."

Naya smiled wide as she giggled and giddily twirled around. Dianna let out a soft chuckle as she watched her friend enjoy a refreshing moment of carefree delight and excitement.

* * *

Heather was leaning forward close to the mirror as she put the finishing touches of her mascara on. She screwed the cap back on and set the tube down before turning towards the door of the bathroom to take a look at herself in the full length mirror that hung on the back of the door.

She wore a simple black dress with a sweetheart neckline and an empire waist. The straps of her dress hung squarely over her shoulders and her hair was tied into an elegant, low side ponytail with her blonde hair flowing gently down the front of her right shoulder and chest.

She gave a small smile to herself in the reflection of the mirror. She was pleased with it but there was something missing. She brought her hand up to the center of her chest and up to her neck.

A necklace. That was what she needed. And she had the perfect one in mind. She swung the bathroom door open and padded across the wood floor of her bedroom to her dresser. She lifted the top of her three-tiered jewelry box and pulled out a long silver chain with a silver dragonfly hanging from it.

Ding-dong

She leaned to the side so she could peer out her bedroom window. She saw Naya's car parked in the driveway. A smile grew across her lips as her eyes glistened with excitement.

_She's here!_

Heather placed the top of her jewelry box in place and gathered the necklace into the palm of her hand before closing her fingers around it. She grabbed her heels on the ground next to her dresser and grabbed her clutch purse, fitting it under her arm. She was about to walk out of her room when the white daisies in the vase on her nightstand caught her eye. She smiled and set her things down on her bed. She plucked a single white daisy out of the vase and fit it securely behind her ear, gathering her things again before she went downstairs.

She set her purse, heels and necklace on the table next to the front door, took a deep breath and swung the door open. "Good timing. I was just finishing—"

At the sight of Naya, Heather took a small gasp in and swore she felt her heart skip a beat. She'd seen Naya dress up before and she always looked amazing, but there was something different about this, like Heather was looking at her with a different set of eyes, a better set of eyes that could clearly see just how dazzling she was. The dress, her legs, her lips, her eyes, everything about her was strikingly gorgeous.

Naya's face fell at Heather's silence and she looked down at her red dress. "Oh God, it looks bad doesn't it?"

"No, no. You look…" Heather was surprised she could actually put two words together. She was sure anything she said would have come out as gibberish. Her eyes gazed down and up again, taking in the sight before her. She was sure her favorite thing was how Naya's dark hair flowed loosely and delicately down around her shoulders. "Beautiful." Heather smiled, even with her eyes. "You look beautiful," she spoke softly with captivated delight.

Naya looked up again and she helplessly smiled back. A small dimple appeared in her right cheek.

_No, that! Her dimple. That's my favorite thing._

Now Naya was gazing at Heather, completely enamored with her, especially the way the bright white daisy seemed to amplify the warmth and affection in her eyes and smile. "You look…" Naya's mouth hung open and she let out a breathy little laugh. "Anything I say won't do it justice."

Heather let out a small giggle and tilted her head as she leaned her hand into the doorknob. "I'm not even done. I don't even have my shoes on yet."

"Barefoot or not, you look incredible."

Heather curled the corner of her mouth upward. She tilted her head toward the inside of the house, suggesting that Naya come inside. Heather moved to the side to where her things were on the table and Naya stepped through the doorway, shutting the door behind her.

Heather grabbed her clutch purse off the table and peered inside, making sure she had everything she needed.

"So, you got the flowers," Naya gestured toward the flower in Heather's hair.

"Yeah," Heather snapped her purse shut and turned around to face Naya. "Thank you. They're in a vase up in my room. It was really sweet of you."

"Now you can wake up to your favorite flowers," Naya smiled knowingly.

"How'd you know?" Heather had a puzzled but pleasantly surprised look on her face. "That daisies are my favorite?"

Naya glanced down at her feet, a little embarrassed at how dorky she was when it came to remembering details about Heather, but she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear and went into her explanation. "Taylor had roses sent to you on set last year for Valentine's Day. I remember you liked it but by the end of the day you were ready to get rid of them and when I asked you why, you said that roses were nice but they were too easy, like the flowers weren't really for you. They were more for the day. A million other girls were getting roses that day too. You said you would've taken home something like daisies because there's no way you couldn't smile waking up to daisies every morning." Naya shrugged her shoulder up a little. "They're your favorite."

Heather started grinning. "You remember that?"

"I remember a lot of things when it comes to you."

Heather's mouth went into a wide, close-lipped smile as she gazed at Naya, being reminded of just how special Naya could make her feel with her gestures, both small and grand. She fluttered her eyes back to reality and swiftly turned around, picking up the dragonfly necklace off the table.

She turned back to Naya holding up the necklace in front of her as the chain dangled straight down from her fingers. "Put this on me?"

Naya took hold of the necklace from Heather's fingers as Heather turned around again, lifting the hair off her shoulder. Naya undid the clasp and threaded the chain around Heather so the necklace hung down her chest and around her neck. Naya fastened the clasp at the back of Heather neck and brought one hand down to rest on Heather's hip as her other hand brushed softly across her shoulder.

Naya's eyelids fell shut as she placed a soft kiss where her hand had just been at the back of Heather's shoulder.

She breathed in as she kissed her, taking in the delightfully intoxicating fragrance of Heather's perfume. She smelled of lilacs and springtime and a soft hint of vanilla. "God, you smell amazing," Naya helplessly whispered into Heather's neck.

Heather brought her hand around the back of Naya's head as Naya placed another kiss on her neck. Then Naya brought her hand down to catch the side of Heather's hip as Heather gracefully turned around to face her. Their faces were inches apart and Heather brought the tips of her fingers up under Naya's chin. Heather kissed her slowly, loving every delicate and tender moment of it.

When they pulled back from the kiss, Naya fluttered her eyes open but her eyelids remained hooded, intoxicated with the moment. Heather was her kryptonite; the only person in the world that could make her heart swell and soar to new heights, make her knees weak, and take her breath away, all in one fleeting moment.

Heather lingered there for a moment and nuzzled her nose against Naya's, not wanting to move away from that small moment in time, but at this rate they'd never make it to the restaurant.

She pulled her head back completely and brushed a strand of Naya's brown hair from her cheek, gently tucking it behind her ear. "C'mon, we have a reservation to make."

Naya faintly smiled. "Okay," she said quietly.

Heather slipped her heels on and took the daisy out of her hair, placing it in the dish on the table as she picked up her keys to lock the door as they left.

* * *

Naya pulled her car into the narrow driveway on the side of the building where the valet was. They got out of the car and walked a few feet along the side of the building to where the V.I.P. entrance was. A stocky man in a suit held the door open for them and they walked up a small set of wide stairs to the hostess stand.

"Hi," Naya greeted the hostess with a polite smile. "Reservation for two under Aria Van Rye."

The hostess skimmed down her list of reservations, which was lit by a single small lamp that hung over the lip of the hostess stand. When she found the name she looked up with a cheery and pleasant smile. "Welcome, Miss Van Rye. Right this way."

The hostess led them through a doorway and down a long corridor. It was dimly lit with lights across the ceiling and small lamps to light the various framed Impressionist and Abstract artwork that hung on both walls. Heather walked a little bit behind Naya, timid about her new environment. Naya looked back occasionally and saw the nervous tension in Heather's body language but Heather was keeping herself smartly distracted from her nervousness by quickly observing the artwork on the walls as she passed them. There was a turn to the right in the corridor and they entered a medium-sized room with a small stage at the back wall where a man in a black fedora was blissfully playing a jazzy sort of tune on the piano. Lining the walls of the room were private booths and the space was dimly lit except for a single candle at the center of each table and a single overhead lamp hanging from the back wall of each booth. There were couples and small groups of people at each booth, caught up in their own drinks, meals, and conversations. Each party could barely see a thing beyond the light shone at their individual tables, completely unaware that anyone had even entered the room. No one even turned their head as the girls made their way toward their table.

They stopped at a circular private booth in the back corner of the room. The hostess laid two menus and a wine list open on the table and outstretched her arm toward the booth. "Here you are, Miss Van Rye. Jennifer will be serving you tonight. She'll be by in just a minute if you'd like to start off with some wine or cocktails this evening. If you need anything my name is Meghan."

"Thank you, Meghan," Naya politely smiled.

"My pleasure." Meghan politely nodded back and turned to leave the room.

Heather was standing close next to Naya and looking down at the candlelit table. She stretched her arms and hands downward and excitedly squeezed at her clutch purse with a toothy smile plastered across her face.

Naya giggled and outstretched her arm toward the booth in a grand and aristocratic sort of way. "Your private booth, Miss," she playfully offered.

Heather giggled. "Cool!" She enthusiastically sat down at one end of the booth and scooted around the circular shape of it toward the back and center. Naya did the same, sitting down at the other side and scooting around to meet Heather at the center.

"This place is perfect," Heather smiled as Naya settled in next to her.

"Glad you like it," Naya smiled back, pleased with how the night was going thus far. Heather picked up her menu and began looking it over as Naya took the wine list. "So you wanna start off with some wine?"

"Yeah, that sounds good to me. I bet they have some good ones here." Heather popped her head up. "Hey, so who's Aria Van Rye?"

"Oh, it's an anagram for my name," Naya said casually as she looked over the wine list.

Heather began snickering with an amused look on her face.

"What?" Naya looked up at her. "I figured it wouldn't hurt to go under an alias," she shrugged but was completely serious.

"You really are ridiculous, ya know that?"

Naya scrunched her nose at Heather and playfully swatted at her knee under the table.

Heather continued her chuckling. "And how long did it take you to come up with that?"

"It was easy. Just change the letters around and stuff," Naya twirled her finger in the air before looking back at the wine list.

Heather tilted her head and arched her brow at Naya. She wasn't convinced.

Naya felt Heather's eyes on her and rolled her own up at the ceiling. "Okay, I was bored and it took me an hour of re-arranging letters before I realized I could just look it up in an online anagram generator."

Heather started cracking up again.

"I could've used an anagram for you," Naya poked at her knee under the table. "But one of 'em made you sound like a southern belle and the other was kinda stripper-ish."

"Oh like 'Aria Van Rye' couldn't be a stripper name?"

Naya sighed in defeat. "Touché," she nodded her head down.

Heather set her open menu down on the table. "So what are my southern belle and stripper names?" She asked, excitedly curious.

Naya set the wine list down and crossed her hands in her lap as she turned a little in her seat to face Heather. "Ema Rose Rhither and Sierra H. Thomer."

Heather craned her head back in laughter. "Okay, okay. Aria Van Rye was definitely a better choice."

Naya nodded her head forward in acceptance. "Thank you. I thought it was a good choice on my part."

Heather picked her menu up again as she lightly giggled. "It makes you sound old money-ish. Like you should've walked in with a fur coat on or something."

Naya's eyes popped wide as she turned to Heather. "Oooh, and a diamond necklace that really serves no other purpose than to blind people," she mocked.

Heather giggled some more. "I'll have to bring a wide-brimmed hat next time so we can use my southern belle name."

Naya's face broke into a wide smile as she let out a hearty laugh.

"We'll save my stripper name for when we're alone," Heather smirked at her and teasingly bounced her brows up before turning back to her menu.

Naya's smile instantly turned into a pleasantly intrigued smirk for a moment before she noticed the server walking up to the table.

"Hi, my name is Jennifer. I'll be your server this evening. Can I start you off on some wine?"

The girls ordered a glass of wine for each of them; Pinot Noir for Naya and a Rosé for Heather. They ordered an appetizer of calamari to share and played a game where they tried to guess what the other was going to order for their main dish. Heather guessed it right on the first try, that Naya would order the Chicken Cacciatore. Naya had more difficulty guessing Heather's order. She kept going back and forth between the Spaghetti Carbonara and the Three Cheese Ravioli. She eventually guessed wrong with the Ravioli but Heather said she was right anyway because she'd actually spent a good portion of time trying to decide between those two dishes anyway.

They laughed and joked all throughout dinner. Naya had run through a list of impressions Heather had jokingly requested of her, each one funnier and more accurate than the last. And Heather made so many creatively off the wall comments that the muscles in Naya's sides actually started to hurt from laughing so much. By the time their cheesecake desert arrived, Heather thought she had never smiled or laughed so much as she had in the past hour with Naya. And Naya was ecstatically happy about how well the evening had gone so far, considering all the things that could've gone wrong and ending up spending a perfectly wonderful evening in the company of her favorite person in the whole world.

Naya took one last bite of the cheescake, set the fork turned down on the edge of the plate and sat back in her seat. "Oh my God, I'm stuffed. That's all you," she gestured toward the half-eaten slice of cheesecake.

Heather ate her last bite and set her fork down as well. "No way. I can't eat anymore." She scooted close next to Naya and sat back in the booth.

Naya ran her fingers over Heather's hand that was resting on the seat. "You ready to get out of here?"

Heather lightly nodded up and down. "I'm gonna use the restroom before we leave though."

"Okay," Naya patted at her hand. "You go. I'll get the bill."

Heather leaned forward and pecked the tip of Naya's nose with a quick kiss. "Thank you for such an awesome night."

A huge smile spread across Naya's face as Heather scooted out of the booth and left the table.

As Heather made her way back from the restroom, she stopped in front of the hostess stand at the V.I.P. entrance. There was a bowl of mints and she picked one up. She heard muffled hollering and shouting sounds coming from somewhere behind her and turned around toward the sound. She stood at the top of the small set of stairs as she unwrapped her mint. Looking down at the entrance they had come in earlier in the night, she could only see the bottom half of the double doors that led to the sidewalk on the side of the building. She could see big bursts and flashes of light accompanied with the muffled shouting noises.

Heeather froze and her eyes widened. After a second she swiftly turned back to the hostess stand. "Um, excuse me. Meghan, right?"

"Yes, what can I do for you?"

"Do you know what's going on out there?" Heather gestured toward the entrance behind her.

"Oh, photographers and paparazzi. I believe they're here for one of our V.I.P. guests. They're nothing to worry about."

Heather gulped and practically swallowed her mint whole. "Okay, thanks," she responded, quiet as a mouse.

She briskly walked down the long corridor and back into the V.I.P. room, making a B-line for their table in the corner.

Naya had been bubbly and content sitting at the booth waiting for the bill and Heather so they could leave and continue their night elsewhere. However, the second Heather sat down and started frantically scooting into the booth, Naya read the panicked expression on her face and she instantly became worried. "Whoa, what's—"

"There's paparazzi outside," Heather whispered with distress.

"What? Are you serious? What the—How—" Naya stammered at a loss for words with the abrupt change in circumstance.

"What do we do?"

"Shit!" Naya propped her elbows up on the table and began rubbing her temples with the tips of her fingers. "Shit shit shit shit shit!"

Heather quickly grabbed Naya's purse laying next to her in the booth and held it out to her. "Quick, call Derek. You said we could call him if something happened, right?"

Naya popped her head up, now focused on the task at hand. "Right. Derek." She grabbed her purse and pulled her phone out. She had Derek on speed dial. He picked up on the second ring. "D! There's paparazzi outside. What do we do?"

"Alright, calm down." Derek's voice was steady as a rock on the other end of the phone. "Are you inside? Have they seen you?"

"No, but Heather saw them outside." Naya turned to Heather to make sure that was the case and Heather nodded her head in confirmation.

"Has anyone come up to you and said anything? The wait staff? A manager?"

"No, no. We're just sitting in our booth. We were about to leave."

"Okay, let me make a few phone calls and get more info. As far as we know they're not there for you. Just pay the bill and sit tight. I'll call you back in five." With that, Derek quickly ended the call.

Naya set her phone down on the table.

The whole time Heather had been leaning in closely trying to hear as much of the conversation as possible. "So what'd he say? What-" She cut herself off and scooted back to put a normal amount of distance between her and Naya when she saw the server approach the table.

"Here you go, Miss Van Rye." The server set a pen and the tab folder on the table with Naya's credit card popping out of the top.

"Thanks," Naya smiled and nodded with all the politeness she could muster as the server left the table. She quickly filled out the bill and put her credit card away.

Heather scooted close to Naya again and continued in her panicked whispering. "So what do we do?"

"Derek said we're fine if we just stay at the booth for now. As far as we know, they're not here for us. He's gonna call back in a bit." Naya huffed into the back of the booth, crossing her arms and legs. Her head thudded against the padding of the booth.

Heather snaked her hand over Naya's arm and pried her hand out. Naya welcomed it and their fingers interlocked as Heather let their clasped hands drop to rest on top of her knee.

They both glanced down at their hands and then up at each other. Both their eyes were completely clouded with worry.

Heather desperately wanted to do something, anything, to somehow make the situation better. Over the past few weeks Naya had done so much to be a pillar of strength for both of them, holding them up, especially when Heather was freaking out or filled with anxiety. In this instance Heather wanted to be the strong one, the reassuring one, their pillar holding them up.

_We're in it together. As long as we're together. When we're together we can get through anything._

Heather thought back to the feeling she had when Naya was holding her hand as they sat on the couch after the tabloid story broke. How Naya somehow always gave her the strength to see the positive side of things.

_Optimism. She likes my optimism. I'll give her that. That's what she needs right now._

Heather perked up with a genuine amount of sincerity that reached her eyes. "Everything will work out. Derek's really good at his job. He'll figure something out." She ran her thumb across the top of Naya's hand.

Naya began shaking her head. "I don't know how we're gonna ninja our way out of this."

A bubbly sort of snickering escaped from Heather's voice as a thought popped into her head. "Ninja Naya."

Naya tilted he head with a puzzled look on her face.

"Or Naya the Ninja."

Naya's lips started forming into a smile as a small laugh started to bubble up inside of her.

"We should get Chris to give us some Sai sword lessons. No way the paparazzi would mess with us if we were legit ninjas."

Naya started letting her laughter out now and Heather started giggling along with her.

However, a moment later Naya's phone buzzed on the table with Derek's return call and she fell back into a concerned and worried state. Her eyes whipped over to the phone and she quickly answered it, bringing the phone up to her ear. "Hey, so what's the plan?"

"Put me on video call and turn the volume down so only the two of you can hear me. I need both of you to hear my instructions."

Naya did as she was told and put the phone down on the table, turning the video chat on and the volume down so only her and Heather could hear.

Derek's face filled the screen of the phone as he looked up at them and began talking. "Alright, they're not there for you. They don't even know you're there. Zac Efron showed up. He's in the lounge. They're waiting for him."

"Christ, really?" Naya scoffed.

Derek continued with his pointed instructions. "I called a driver. Naya, he'll text you once he's parked in the valet line. He'll be in a black Escalade and he's been instructed to pick one of you up. Only one of you," he emphasized. "It doesn't matter which one but there's a chance the paps could snap a few pictures or take a video from the entrance to the car. As long as you're not seen together."

"I'll take the Escalade," Heather was quick to offer.

Naya looked at her with slight surprise. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah," Heather shrugged. "Front door to the car. No problem. Besides, Zac and I have mutual friends. It makes more sense for me to be coming out of here than you."

"Good thinking, Heather," Derek nodded in her direction with appreciation.

Heather gave an equally appreciative smile and nodded back.

"Okay, that gets Heather out," Derek continued. "Naya, I called the restaurant manager. The valet will bring your car around to the backside of the building next to the loading dock. Once it's there the manager will personally escort you to it through the back of the restaurant. Drive to the end of the alleyway and you'll exit onto the street three blocks down from the restaurant. Naya, I want you to go straight home from there. No detours. And Heather, the driver will take you straight home as well."

"What? Why? Derek, we're not kids out late on a school night. What if—"

Heather squeezed Naya's knee. Naya stopped and snapped her eyes up to look at Heather.

Heather spoke quietly, trying to make it so that only Naya could hear her. "This isn't the time or place for a debate. Let's just do what he says."

Naya fluttered her eyes shut and open again while she nodded in agreement before turning back to the phone.

Even without hearing the exchange of words, Derek understood the brief exchange that just occurred. He gave another appreciative nod in Heather's direction. "Thank you Heather."

Heather nodded back, once again accepting his gratitude.

"Girls, I know this sucks but this is what we all agreed to. Are you both clear on what the plan is?"

Heather restated her individual instructions in bullet note format. "The driver will text Naya. Go out front. Black Escalade. Straight home."

Naya did the same. "Car out back. The manager will escort me. Drive to the end of the alleyway and straight home."

"Perfect. Let me know when both of you get home safely. Heather, do you have my number?"

"I'll get it from Naya."

"Thanks Derek," Naya quietly gave her gratitude.

"Yeah, thank you. You're kind of awesome at this stuff," Heather added.

"Not a problem," he tipped his head forward a bit. "Just looking out for you. And might I say, both of you look beautiful this evening."

Both girls gave shy smiles as they each attempted a quick glance at each other.

Derek cracked a warm smile as well. "Have a good rest of the night, and _both_ of you don't forget to let me know when you're home." He ended the call.

Naya let out a deep sigh and sank back into the booth. She brought her hand up to forehead to rub it a little before letting it smack down in her lap and crossing her arms again.

Heather was eyeing her as she saw Naya going through her mental Rolodex of negative outcomes. Both of them were waiting in anticipation for their escape plan to kick off. Heather decided to break the ice.

"We could totally use a flashmob of streakers right now," Heather calmly stated as if she were talking about the weather.

Naya cracked a smile.

"We could call them in like an air strike. Distract the paparazzi while we slip away under an invisibility cloak like Harry Potter."

That bubbly laugh of Naya's started surfacing and she uncrossed her arms so they sat loosely in her lap.

"We should invest in one of those. I bet it would come in handy," Heather added.

Naya had a full smile on her face now as she let the remains of her laughter out. She shook her head a little and sat up. "How are you so calm about this?"

"Because you're not," Heather shrugged. "We can't have both of us freaking out."

"But what about you?" Naya leaned her arm on the table so she was squarely in front of Heather. "You're not nervous?" she inquired.

"Sure. A little," Heather lightly shrugged her shoulders again. "Ya know, before. But there's a plan now. It's not as scary as it was ten minutes ago. And I'm sure you've already thought of a dozen different ways this could end badly. So right now, I'll be the calm one, and if I can make you smile or laugh then I know you won't worry so much."

A warm smile crossed Naya's lips.

"I mean, c'mon," Heather started nodding her head. "The streaker flashmob thing is funny."

Naya shut her eyes and laughed as she started shaking her head back and forth. "Such a ridiculous image."

Heather started laughing along with her. "Like those guys who streak across the field in those professional soccer games," she added.

Naya helplessly let out a hearty laugh. "With advertisements written across their ass."

Their laughing grew with each passing second until Naya's phone buzzed again. She looked down at the phone resting on the table but the laughter was still in her eyes. The text message from the driver had come through.

Naya picked up the phone and tucked it into her purse. She drew in a deep breath and looked up into Heather's eyes. "Here we go."

Heather gently took Naya's hand and gave it a light squeeze. "I'll call you when I get home."

Naya nodded and gave a light squeeze back as she let go of Heather's hand.

Heather gave her a small smile, scooted out of the booth, picking up her purse along the way and got up from the table, leaving for the front entrance of the restaurant.

* * *

**A/N:** Review if you'd like. I promise there are better times just around the corner. Until next time, I hope you enjoyed this chapter.


	12. Let It Be

**A/N:** Thank you for all the reviews. Again, I'm sorry for the wait. My schedule is a little erratic right now and I'm getting these chapters out as fast as I can without losing quality. Thank you for your patience.

First, a few things to mention about this chapter. There is a flashback concerning Heather and her father as we delve a little deeper into that part of her. It will be the first of several flashbacks.

Also, this chapter is very music heavy. I hope you all like the Beatles. Here is a list of the songs featured in this chapter in the order in which they appear. The music box links are just for reference if you want to hear what the music boxes sound like. All of the songs are clearly marked within the text as to when they are featured.

"Let It Be" (music box) - watch?v=ZfonVgryvTk&feature=related

"Here Comes The Sun" (music box) - watch?v=XaVb71_elQw

"Here Come The Sun" (original) - watch?v=BxzEeKfpyIg&feature=related

"Octopus's Garden" (original) - watch?v=BRu-oEwA0Ec

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch. 12 Let It Be**

When Naya walked into her house she unceremoniously tossed her purse on the coffee table and kicked her heels off, tossing them on the couch before going to the kitchen for a glass of water. She took a sip and pulled her hair back into a loose bun, letting out a long and drawn out sigh before she leaned her forearms onto the island counter. Her eyes blankly stared forward at nothing in particular as her thumb unconsciously ran up and down the side of her water glass.

She was completely in her head and had practically been on autopilot since she left the restaurant. Everything on her end of the escape plan had gone off without a hitch. The manager had come by their table about three minutes after Heather left and escorted Naya to her car, which was waiting in the alleyway behind the restaurant just like Derek said it would. Though her nerves had been jumping while she sat at the table, when it came time to accomplish their haphazard escape plan she was almost robotic, automatic and efficient in completing the task. Then all along the way home a sickening feeling gradually seeped into her bones, like her stomach kept falling into a bottomless pit.

Everything just felt off course and certainly nothing about the way the night ended felt right. Naya felt that it was like an action scene from a James Bond movie had been randomly injected into a romantic comedy. Nothing fit or corresponded the way it was supposed to. And while her outward expression seemed quite numb due to the sheer exhaustion of the now yo-yo like quality of her daily life, her insides were screaming for her to find a way to make everything feel right. To have those blissful, enlivening moments, like the night Heather came over just to kiss her, or when they were wrapped up in their blanket looking out over the city, or those lazy afternoons they'd spent together. Those moments that tended to unexpectedly sneak up on her felt like heaven and she so desperately wanted tonight to feel that way too. But it didn't work out that way, at least not the way it ended.

Naya slid forward on the counter top, clutching the water glass with both hands as her arms stretched out. She bent her head down and closed her eyes as her forehead rested on the cool marble.

_This isn't how the night was supposed to end. I don't know what I was expecting but not this. It wasn't supposed to feel like this. Like everything is a dead end. This isn't how it was supposed to go. I should've known better. Of course something would go wrong. And now we're back to square-one. _

She let out a deep and frustrated sigh, bringing her head up and her arms crossed inward so she could rest her chin on her arms. She immediately saw her breakfast table across the way and after a moment let out a helpless little chuckle, remembering her and Heather playing with whipped cream. Then she began reflecting on some of their conversation from that morning.

_Maybe Heather's right. I'm putting too much pressure on myself. On us. On what I think we should be doing or how it should go. On what I think dating should look like...Am I forcing it? Am I forcing some sort of pre-conceived notion about dating on us? _

She could faintly hear the ringtone of her phone as it buzzed in her purse on the coffee table and it brought her out of her thoughts. She walked over to the table, digging her phone out of her purse. Heather was calling.

Just seeing her name flash across the screen was comforting and she smiled as she answered. "Hey."

"Hey." Heather sounded like she finally had a moment to breath and her voice was slightly nasally, as if she were laying down, possibly on her bed. "Did you make it home okay?"

"Yeah, not a whole lot of traffic." Naya started twisting from side to side at her waist, hesitant but insanely curious for the answer to her next question. "So how'd everything go?"

"Good. Marcus is a nice guy. He's the driver Derek sent."

Naya let out a soft laugh. Of course Heather would disregard any possible negativity and instead instantly think of the new person she got to meet. "No, I mean outside, with the paparazzi. Did they give you any trouble?"

"Oh," Heather reciprocated the soft laugh. "Right. It was fine. I think like two of them took a few snapshots but they didn't really ask a whole lot of questions or anything."

"Well this was a disaster." Naya plopped down on the couch. "That's not how I planned for things to go at all."

"It wasn't a disaster. I had a really good time. Ya know, aside from the last part."

Naya started playing with the hem of her dress. She had it in her head that Heather was just being polite. Then a thought flashed through her mind and her eyebrow impulsively bounced upward. "Well, the night doesn't necessarily have to end. Do you want me to come over?"

Naya could hear Heather take a sharp breath in, about to answer, when a distant and muffled voice interrupted. "Hemo! Get your dancin' shoes on and get your ass down here."

"Who was that?"

"Brad." Heather's mood had obviously deflated. "He wants a dance dance revolution rematch with me on the Wii. Ashley got home just after I did. She brought a bunch of people over after the show. I had to duck into my room and change really fast so she wouldn't see me dressed up or anything."

"So I guess that's a 'No' on me coming over." Naya got the impression that Heather didn't really want to go downstairs and join everyone but Naya knew she would anyway. Heather usually wasn't one to disappoint with casual social invitations.

Heather gave a defeated sigh. "We should probably call it a night. I think Ashley's getting suspicious anyway. She'd probably be even more suspicious if you randomly showed up."

Naya defeatedly sighed in return. "Okay."

"I'll miss you though," Heather said sweetly.

Naya's face softened with a smile to match Heather's voice. "I'll miss you too."

There was a moment of silence as both of them were reluctant to leave the conversation, content to stay on the phone just a little longer, even if they weren't talking.

The silence was replaced with a small amount of tension as Naya's smile faded and her troubled thoughts from just a few minutes ago began to find their way back into her consciousness. "I think…I think this going to be a lot harder than we thought. I dunno, I guess we should probably try and lay low on the dates for a while."

Heather gave another sigh that mirrored the dispirited tone of Naya's voice as she tried to think of the right thing to say. "Probably. We'll figure it out," she said with a hint of forced positivity.

"Yeah, we'll figure something out."

Finally in a rare flash of articulate clarity, Heather impulsively and genuinely said exactly what she was thinking, her voice soft and steady as if she couldn't be more sure of herself. "To be honest, it doesn't matter to me if we're out at a five star restaurant or sitting on the couch all night watching a movie. I'd be happy either way as long as it means I get to spend more time with you."

At those words another sweet and helpless smile graced Naya's lips as her eyes fluttered downward. "There you go saying the most perfect thing again."

Heather mirrored the smile she could hear in Naya's voice as she let out a small laugh. "Well it's easy when it's the truth." A moment passed as their smiles lingered along with the comment. Then Heather spoke up again, her voice still filled with the utmost sincerity. "But Naya, I really did have a good time tonight. And I especially loved the daisies."

The corners of Naya's lips turned upward even more. Heather could practically feel the warmth of Naya's smile through the phone.

Naya tilted her head back to rest on the couch. Again, they both remained silent for a moment. It was as if they were in a momentary haze hearing only the faint and relaxed sound of each other's breathing, wrapped up in simply knowing that the other was there.

"Hemo!" Another muffled shout could be heard through the phone.

Naya was brought back to reality and she flickered her eyes as she sat up again. "Well…go kick Brad's butt in your dance off."

"You know I will," Heather playfully reassured and it made them both laugh.

Naya let out one last calming breath. "Goodnight." Her voice was soft and sweet but reluctant to end their night together.

"Goodnight," Heather reciprocated the soft tone of Naya's voice. "Sweet dreams," she added.

Another warm smile appeared on Naya's face. "Sweet dreams."

Once the call ended Naya let out another deep sigh, setting the phone on the coffee table and standing up from the couch. When she stood her eyes flitted over to her bookshelf next to the TV. At eye level she immediately saw her collection of small, hand crank music boxes neatly organized on the shelf. She walked over to the shelf, realizing that she hadn't so much as picked up one of her music boxes in quite a while.

She remembered her first music box. She was eight and it was a present from her mom. She remembered being so captivated by it, like there was something magical happening. As her little hand turned the crankshaft of the metal trinket, it also turned a revolving cylinder with strategically placed pins that plucked the tuned teeth of a metal comb, which rang with the most recognizable part of a particular song. Her first music box played 'What A Wonderful World' and she instantly fell in love with its lullaby-like quality. She usually played one of her music boxes if she ever felt down, or sad, or hopeless. The tone of the music was uplifting and would always steal her away to a momentary dream-like state where anything seemed possible. The music always ended with a warm and hopeful smile on her face. Since then, if she ever found a music box with a song she didn't have, she'd get it. They were rare to find in stores but over the years she'd built up a collection. She had about twenty of them now.

All of them were laid out on the shelf, unlabeled but in an organized pattern. Before she even knew she was reaching for it, she automatically went for the second one in on the right. It fit snuggly in the palm of her hand and she held it for a brief moment, wondering what song the music box would play.

As she turned the crankshaft at a moderate tempo, the song began. At the sound of the opening notes, a low chuckle escaped her body. Of course she would pick up one of the two music boxes Heather played almost every time she came over. The song was 'Let It Be.' As she approached the end of the chorus she slowed her tempo, letting the ending notes ring out and linger in the air.

_Let it be_, the lyrics and melody hummed in her mind.

She took it as a sign. Maybe that was the answer to all of her worried and troubled thoughts. She was so scared of the negative outcomes, letting them wreak havoc on her mind, that she constantly felt trapped by them. They were starting to drown out all the brilliant and wonderful moments that had come along. She tried to exert so much control over herself and the circumstances, constantly vying for everything to reflect a perfect image in her head, that she was blinding herself to any amount of faith in the unique and often unexpected nature of some of life's most brilliant moments. She had to believe that everything would happen the way it was meant to, then just…let it be.

* * *

Heather was absentmindedly flipping through channels on the TV as she waited for Naya to come downstairs. Naya's house had effectively become Heather's second home over the past several days. A few of her clothes had made their way into one of Naya's drawers and she even had a few personal items, including her toothbrush, that were for all intents and purposes not leaving Naya's bathroom anytime soon. Both of them had a free day of nothing to do so Naya thought it would be productive to sift through a box of free clothing items she'd received in the mail and Heather could help her decide which ones she should keep.

Ever since the show had become a hit the cast of Glee had been put on celebrity radar. Aside from paparazzi photos and fans asking them for autographs and pictures, another side effect was that they all started receiving free packages in the mail from designers and boutique labels, companies wanting a young, hot cast to wear or endorse their products so they could effectively become walking billboards. It was a good advertising strategy. Companies were hoping that if any of the cast members wore any of the clothing or endorsed any of the products then it would set a trend.

Personally, Heather thought the whole celebrity lifestyle thing was kind of weird, or at least took some getting used to. She definitely didn't mind getting free stuff or getting invited to parties but there was so much emphasis placed on your image. She didn't take to it very well. She wasn't really concerned with wearing the right clothes at all times. She was a self-admitted dork with an oddball sense of humor and sometimes people just didn't get it. It didn't really matter to her what she was wearing as long as she could express herself how she pleased and have fun.

Naya on the other hand took to it like a fish to water. She was just good at it. She knew how much public perception could influence her career. She knew what she wanted and how to get it and aligning herself with the right trends was part that package.

Naya had been trying on clothes practically all morning, or at least it felt that way. Though Heather liked seeing the array of outfits, from the severely questionable to the insanely sexy, she was glad Naya was almost done. It was getting to be the middle of the day but Heather felt a bit groggy from the odd sleeping hours she'd adopted over the past few days. She turned the volume down on the TV and closed her eyes as she hung her head back to rest on the top part of the couch, so if her eyes were open she'd be looking up at the ceiling.

She'd slept in this morning since she didn't have anything planned for the day but it was one of those mornings where she woke up still feeling tired and hadn't been able to feel fully awake yet. It probably had something to do with the fact that she'd spent the night at Naya's again. It was the third time in the past five days. After their scare at the restaurant they had unconsciously shifted into spending most of their time together at Naya's house. And no matter how much they had going on during the day or how tired they were, they always seemed to easily fill the hours of the night with anything but sleep. They'd talk, watch movies, and make 2am ice cream trips to Dairy Queen. At one point they even sat on the floor and played cards for what seemed like hours. They just somehow filled the time.

It turns out Heather was excellent at the card game 'Spit' despite having never played it before Naya taught her. But what she liked even more was how cute Naya was when she got frustrated with Heather's beginners luck. She would do this adorable pout where she squished her lips out and contorted her mouth in all different directions while her eyes went all squinty and then shift in her seat and become really concentrated on the game. Heather was finding that Naya was actually quite competitive. But Heather also had a sneaking suspicion that occasionally Naya would purposefully lose just because Heather would always crawl over the cards and practically smother her with a series of playful kisses whenever she lost. It always made her laugh with that carefree, bubbly giggle that Heather loved to hear and they'd completely forget the game.

They just never seemed to be tired of each other. And Heather was gradually finding out all these new things about Naya. They'd developed a game of random questions called "Top Five." It started one night when Naya wanted to paint her nails but couldn't decide on a color from her collection. Out of sheer curiosity and in an effort to help Naya decide, Heather proposed the question, "What are your top five favorite nail polish colors?" From that point on if either one of them came up with a random 'top five' question, they'd ask it. So far they'd gone through lists like Heather's top five superpowers she wishes she had, and her top five favorite candies, and Naya had listed her top five desert island albums and her top five favorite books.

Though their on-going game of "Top Five" was all in good fun, some topics had been somewhat of a gateway to more intimate conversation. Heather thought she knew Naya better than anyone, but lately she had been sharing intimate details that Heather didn't know before. It was like Naya was slowly opening up this whole other side of her, that part of herself that she instinctively kept protectively hidden. It made Heather feel special to think that she might be among a few if not the only person to see that side of Naya. And it was starting to rub off on Heather too. She was finding herself opening up to Naya in ways that she'd never done with anyone before, telling her things and feeling things that she'd never shared with anyone. Somehow it felt easy to share those things with Naya. With each passing moment, Heather felt more and more connected to her, more than she ever thought she could.

Suddenly Heather felt Naya's lips softly pressing down on hers. She fluttered her eyes open and then shut again, smiling as Naya was leaning down and kissing her from behind the couch. Heather was pleasantly surprised. She didn't even hear Naya come down the stairs.

Naya pulled up, her head hovering just above Heather's. "It's the last one. I promise," she whispered before circling around the couch to stand near the base of the stairs.

Heather crossed her legs and sat up. "Nice sneak attack kiss," she said with a much more bubbly attitude than she'd had all day.

"I try," Naya nodded with a little smirk as she turned around in a slow and graceful circle so she could show off the back of the dress she was wearing. "This one's from a new designer guy. I don't know how to pronounce his name," she said with a hint of uneasiness.

Heather's eyes had gone wide with a glint of delight mixed with a hint of lust. Naya was wearing a sky blue strapless dress. It had a small dip in the neckline, narrowed at the waist, and had a quiet, tiered ruffle bottom that ended above her knees. It was simple and showed off her best assets amazingly well. This was Heather's favorite out of everything Naya had modeled off for her so far.

Heather bounced her brows up and beamed with a dorky grin on her face. "Nay, you look hot."

Naya looked down at her dress, unsure if she agreed with the idea of her being hot. "Really? You think so?" she twisted around a little, like she was still trying to figure out how she felt wearing this particular dress.

Heather got up and walked over to Naya, slipping her hands around Naya's waist as she spoke in a soft whisper. "When are you going to realize how hot…" Heather bent her head to kiss Naya's neck, just under her jaw. "…and gorgeous," she kissed Naya's cheek. "…and strikingly beautiful you are." Heather set a deep and tender kiss on Naya's lips.

Naya stood up on her toes, smiling as she pushed up into Heather's kiss. She slipped her hands around the back of Heather's neck and opened her eyes to see Heather's sparkling blue ones still set in a gaze. "I guess it just sounds better when it comes from you."

Heather scrunched her nose. "I knew I should've been saying it more often." She reached around her neck to take hold of Naya's hand, stepped back and brought her arm around and up to spin Naya around.

Naya laughed as she spun, the bottom of her dress twirling around her.

Once Naya had spun all the way around, Heather slipped her hands back around her waist and showered her with a series of quick and playful kisses all over her face and neck as she spoke. "You're beautiful, and gorgeous, and sexy, and smart, and funny, and adorable, and amazing…" Heather placed one more quick kiss on Naya's lips as she held her close. "Did I mention that you're beautiful?"

Naya had been laughing the whole time, overwhelmed with Heather's affection. "Okay, okay. I believe you."

"Good," Heather said with a satisfied smile. She stepped back while taking hold of Naya's hand again so she could spin her around one more time.

Naya was laughing again as she spun. It was amazing how much Naya loved those random outbursts of affection that Heather was so keen on giving. Whenever that happened Naya felt like she was floating away on a cloud or that there may as well have been birds singing like they were in a Disney movie.

Once she spun all the way around, she saw Heather still had that dorky smile on her face. Naya gave her hand a light squeeze before she let go and started backing away toward the stairs. "Okay, I'm going to change out of this before I tear it or something." She was smiling as she hurried up the stairs.

Heather's smile remained as she turned back toward the couch and reached for the remote. She suddenly felt a lot more energetic than she had earlier. She felt light as air and…bouncy. It might not have been the right word but it was the only word she could think of that came close.

She was about to turn up the volume on the TV but decided against it and turned it off instead. Naya's bookshelf caught her eye and she happily bounded over to it. She wanted to pull out the five books Naya had listed as her top five and see what kind of condition they were in. Heather always thought it was interesting to look at what people tended to have laying around their homes or rooms, the little stuff that could easily be overlooked if you weren't paying attention to the details. Things like notebooks or trinkets, postcards or even a Rubik's cube. The little things were always very telling, especially book collections. But Heather didn't really pay much mind to the titles of books as she did to their condition. It was easy to tell if someone had read a book a dozen times or never cracked it open just by the condition.

She noticed that for the most part, Naya's collection was divided into two categories but haphazardly organized along the shelves. Most of her non-fiction was in hardcover while most of her fiction was in paperback. Heather could easily locate the five books Naya had listed as her favorites. She pulled them out, one by one, all of them paperback. She inquisitively looked over the covers and thumbed through the pages. Heather had read some of them and other's she hadn't. She noticed that all of Naya's copies felt very weathered and worn with dog-eared pages, specific lines underlined in pen with small notes written in the margins. Some of them even had the spine cracked from over-use. Obviously Naya had read these books several times over the years. These stories were important to her, important enough for her to keep coming back to them. Heather made a mental note to read the ones she hadn't read yet. If these stories were that significant to Naya then Heather wanted to read them.

She slipped the last book back in its place on the bookshelf and brought her eyes to the shelf directly in front of her at eye-level. A smile slowly crept across her lips as she brought her fingers up to carefully trace over the smooth metal of some of the music boxes on the shelf. Heather loved Naya's music box collection. Something about them was mysteriously enchanting. There was a charm to them that made Heather happy to think that something so simple and yet so fantastic could exist in the same moment.

She reached for the second music box in on the right, the one she always reached for first. She knew exactly what it would play. She turned the crankshaft, playing it slowly, taking in every note as it rang out. She smiled warmly as the last note lingered in the air and set it back in its place on the shelf. She picked up the one right next to it, also knowing exactly which song it would play. She turned it over in her hand a few times, looking at it as if it were an old friend she hadn't seen in quite a while.

She held the music box securely in her hand and took it with her to the couch. She sat back on the cushions just like she had before, with her head hanging back to rest on the top part of the couch. She closed her eyes and began to turn the crankshaft of the music box. The notes began to ring out and a smile bright enough to light the whole house slowly appeared on her face as a memory began to play through her head.

* * *

_Heather was sitting underneath one of the make-up tables in the dressing room of her dance school. She had her legs lazily splayed out in front of her, her little ballet shoes still untied and her head hung down, eyes to the floor. She was slouching a bit, although she would still easily fit underneath the table if she sat up. All the younger age groups had already performed in the recital and were allowed to sit in the audience for the rest of the show. She was now the smallest and youngest dancer backstage by about seven years._

_Her sister, April, had her hands on her hips and a scowl on her face as she leaned far down so she could see Heather underneath the table. "Heather! Stop being such a baby. We're on in the next act. You have to finish getting ready," April scolded her._

_Heather pushed the palms of her hands against the floor so she could back up all the way to the wall. She tucked her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs._

_April rolled her eyes as she reluctantly got down on her hands and knees so she could see underneath the table better. "I'll give you the rest of my Halloween candy," she tried bargaining with her much younger sister._

_Heather shook her head, the soft curls of her blond hair gently swaying from side to side._

"_Ugh!" April was frustrated and had had enough. "You're being such a brat," she said as she stood up. _

_Heather could see the black shoes of her dance instructor as he approached April in the dressing room. "Any luck?" his deep voice resonated gently._

"_No." Heather could practically hear her sister's eyes rolling again._

"_Why don't I try talking to her?"_

"_No, I know how to get her out. I just need to go to the lobby during intermission if that's okay."_

"_Sure. Anything to get her on stage. The performance won't work without her." _

_Heather curled herself further into a ball underneath the table as she saw her sister's ballet shoes and her dance instructor's shoes leave the space in front of the table. _

_Eventually the few girls left in the dressing room had gone and Heather was left alone underneath the make-up table. She wasn't sure how long it had been but shortly thereafter she could here another set of shoes enter the room as they sounded across the wood floor. They stopped just short of the table she was under and she could see someone bending down to look underneath. _

_It was her father with his soft green eyes and sandy blonde hair. She instantly felt more comfortable, loosening her grip around her curled up legs. He sat down on the ground in the space next to her where there was a break between the make-up tables. _

_He pushed himself to sit all the way against the wall and bent his head down a little to see his youngest daughter curled up and scared underneath the table next to him. "Ya know, I heard that sometimes trolls like to hang out underneath tables instead of bridges," he said playfully, knowing that the subject would spark his daughter's interest._

_Heather popped her little head up from her knees and began looking around curiously. "I don't see a troll. Where's he hiding?"_

_He gently laughed, "Well he won't be able to see you and come say 'hi' if you're hiding too. Trolls are shy."_

_Heather started to crawl underneath the table toward her father. She poked her head out and cautiously looked around the room and then back at her father. "I hope he's not bigger than me," she pouted. She crawled over him so she could sit in his lap. _

_Heather curled into him, resting her head on his shoulder as her father wrapped one arm around her back and laid the other one over her legs, gently curling his hand around her ankle. "I dunno. Soon I won't be able to hold you like this anymore. You're looking more and more like a big girl everyday."_

"_Really?" Heather's big blue eyes shifted up to his face._

"_Yep," he gently shook his head up and down._

"_But I'm not a big girl yet," she curled her head to rest back on his shoulder again. "Not like the other girls."_

"_Who? The other dancers?"_

"_Yeah," her voice squeaked out. "They're all like April. They're older, and bigger, and better dancers than me," her voice was gradually filling with more trepidation. "What if I mess up?"_

"_Hey," he lifted her chin with his finger. "You're a good dancer. A great one. And even though you might be smaller, you're just as good as them." He lightly poked at her belly and she giggled. "You wouldn't be asked to dance with them if you weren't good enough."_

_Heather smiled and her father could see the gap where her second baby tooth had fallen out. Heather reached her arms up to clasp her hands tightly around her father's neck as she laid the side of her head on his chest. _

_It was moments like these that he was always reminded of the first time he held her after she was born; one of his little bundles of light and joy. He had sung a song to her then and he thought about singing it to her now, but he quickly thought of another one that might be more appropriate, one that she knew the words to. He wasn't the best singer but he could carry a tune, and he began softly singing to her._

"_Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo,_

_here comes the sun, and I say,_

_it's alright."_

_Heather loosened her grip and popped her head up from his chest with a big grin. Her father smiled back as he continued singing._

"_Little darling, it's been a long cold lonely winter.,_

_Little darling, it feels like years since it's been here."_

_Heather joined him in singing the chorus._

"_Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo,_

_here comes the sun, and I say,_

_it's alright."_

_Heather excitedly stood up, taking hold of his hand and tugging it so he could stand up too. She pulled him to the open space in the middle of the room and he brought his arm up above her head so she could twirl around. He continued to sing as they danced._

"_Little darling, the smiles returning to the faces,_

_Little darling, it seems like years since it's been here."_

_Once again, Heather sang the chorus with him and he twirled her around._

"_Here comes the sun, doo doo doo doo,_

_here comes the sun, and I say,_

_it's alright."_

_He swiftly picked her up so she sat somewhat on his hip. He held her close with one arm easily wrapped around her and she wrapped her little arm around his neck as he clasped their other hands together like they were ballroom dancing. Heather helplessly giggled as he spun both of them around and around. _

"_Sun, sun, sun, here it comes._

_Sun, sun, sun, here it comes._

_Sun, sun, sun, here it comes…"  
_

* * *

Naya put her sweats and her t-shirt back on and hung up the sky blue dress in her closet before leaving her room. Even though Heather and her had become a couple of homebodies whenever they were together the last several days, Naya felt better than she ever had before. She was consciously making an effort, trying to remove any of her doubts or worries. It wasn't going to happen overnight but she felt her perfectionist tendencies, her need to impress, her need to control her circumstances, gradually dissipating from her conscious thoughts. It was like she was finally giving herself permission to relax. Consequently, she was slowly opening up more than she ever had with anyone else. Often times she didn't even notice how much she was sharing with Heather until after the fact, which was scary but oddly left Naya feeling quite warm inside with a feeling one might call happiness.

Naya was just starting down the stairs again when the familiar sound of one her music boxes made her stop. From the top of the stairs she gazed down at Heather, sitting on the couch with her eyes closed and continuously playing one of her music boxes. She seemed to be caught in a reverie, a sort of daydream that caused that rare but beautiful iridescent smile on her face.

Heather let out a soft giggle, which in turn caused a warm smile to cross Naya's face as she continued to gaze down at her. Naya slowly made her way down the stairs as quietly as she could so as not to disturb Heather. She stopped at the bottom of the stairs, leaning up against the banister, her face softened and her eyes still gazing across the room at Heather.

As Heather slowly played the ending notes she opened her eyes and sat up, now noticing that Naya was in the room. She didn't even flinch. She just kept on smiling and let out another soft giggle, looking over at Naya as she played out the last few notes on the music box.

To a certain extent Naya felt like she might have been intruding on a private moment Heather was having, but the way Heather reacted to Naya's sudden presence made it seem like Heather had no inhibitions whatsoever about sharing something like that with Naya. In fact it seemed like Heather was welcoming the idea. It was little moments like these that seemed to fill Naya's heart. It was as if Heather was letting her glimpse into her secret world.

Naya walked over to the couch and sat down next to Heather as both their eyes fluttered down to the music box in Heather's hand.

"You always play the Beatles songs when you're over here," Naya said, still smiling.

"Well who doesn't love the Beatles?" Heather shrugged. She stood up from the couch and started walking toward the bookshelf.

Naya chuckled as she sat up to follow Heather. "I have eighteen other songs. You always play those two."

Heather's face had become much more passive now and she shrugged again as she put the music box back in its place on the shelf. "My dad was a big Beatles fan. I guess it just reminds me of him."

"Happy memories, I hope." Naya leaned against the bookshelf.

Heather faintly smiled. "Always."

Naya's eyes contemplatively shifted to the music box. She picked it up and turned it around in her hands a few times. She played it one more time, slowly like she was taking in every note. Once again with a tender smile, Heather gazed down at the box as Naya played it.

Once Naya was done, she took Heather's hand and held her palm open. She placed the music box at the center of Heather's palm and then closed Heather's fingers around it. "Keep it. It's yours."

Heather's face fell a bit as she softly pushed her closed hand against Naya's in a small protest. "No, I can't. You love these things."

Naya pushed both of her hands back against Heather's. "I want you to have it."

"Really?" Heather was hesitant.

Naya shook her head up and down.

Another smile slowly made its way onto Heather's face as she happily bounced up on the balls up her feet. She propelled herself forward, wrapping Naya in another one of her sudden and enveloping hugs. Naya, caught off guard once again, started laughing.

"Have I also told you you're the best?" Heather gave her a quick kiss as she pulled away, a huge smile on her face.

"Yeah, I think I heard that somewhere once," Naya said as she came down from her laughter.

Heather laughed along with her but a second later she heard the muffled sound of her ringtone and her head whipped to the side in the direction of the couch. She set the music box on the coffee table and started rustling through the bunched up blanket on the couch, where the sound was coming from. She pulled up on the blanket and the phone came tumbling out, landing on the floor in between the couch and the coffee table. Heather flew down to the floor like she was diving for a grenade to answer her phone. Naya let out a hearty laugh as she watched Heather's playful antics.

Ashley's name was flashing across the screen and Heather happily slid her thumb across the touch screen to answer. "Pablo's Porn Shack. How may I help you?" Heather said rather casually. Naya laughed even louder as Heather turned over so she could lay on the floor on her back.

"You gotta save me," Ashley sounded frustrated over the phone. "I was out with Brad and we ran into some of his work buddies and I got dragged to this sports bar. I swear if these people could marry sports teams they would. It's all they talk about."

"So what do you need saving from?" Heather inquired as she saw Naya enter her field of vision, still laughing and standing at Heather's feet.

"I'm bored as hell," Ashley whined.

"So leave."

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I told Brad I would at least try and take an interest in all the sports stuff he's into," Ashley said with a sense of guilt.

"Ya know, one of these days you're gonna have to explain to me how you're dating a sports writer when you have little to no interest in sports." Heather started smiling as Naya started crawling over her on the floor, being cheekily seductive.

"I have an interest in the funny ones," Ashley started justifying. "Like curling. Endless jokes to be made at the expense of a sport like curling."

"So make some jokes about whatever it is they're talking about. At least he'll know that you're somewhat entertained by it. I mean, most sports have a ball involved. There's at least ten jokes right there." Heather started lightly laughing, both at her own joke and Naya's incredibly cheesy antics. She was starting to pull up at Heather's shirt.

"You don't think I've done that? I'm out of my element here. I don't know anyone besides Brad and they're all talking about stats…or drafts or…whatever the hell it is, it might as well be Swahili to me."

"And what makes you think I'll be able to help? I probably know less than you. And since when have you been shy about meeting new people?" Heather oddly began snickering while she was trying to speak. She was trying so hard to keep her focus on the phone conversation except Naya was kissing along her stomach and lightly scratching up her sides, right at the one spot where she was ticklish.

"You're better than me at fitting in with a new crowd. I'm like the black sheep here. C'mon, what's so funny that you can't tear yourself away for a couple of hours?"

"Sorry. Naya's tickling me," Heather laughed out. Naya stopped and tucked her head down on Heather's stomach. Heather immediately squeezed her eyes shut and covered her mouth with her other hand, realizing her slip up a second too late.

"Wait, what? Seriously? You two are hanging out _again?_ When are you- No, ya know what. Scratch that. Her brother plays for one of those football teams, right? Bring her along. Maybe she'll earn me some brownie points."

Heather opened her eyes and shifted them down to Naya. "You wanna go meet up with Ash?" she spoke quietly.

Naya looked up at her and shrugged. "Sure," she said, equally as quiet.

"Okay," Heather directed her attention back to the phone conversation. "We'll be there in a few."

"Yes!" Ashley said triumphantly. "I'll text you the address."

"Yeah, see ya soon." Heather quickly hung up the phone and tossed it on the floor behind her head. She looked back down at Naya who was still camped out over her stomach. They both held their breath for a short second before both of them broke out into laughter.

Heather craned her head back as she laughed and Naya snaked her way up so she was at eye level with Heather. "Close call," she giggled out.

"Your fault," Heather smiled.

Naya smirked and dove her head down to start lavishly kissing up and down Heather's neck. Heather helplessly giggled as she wrapped her arms around Naya.

* * *

Miller's Bar and Grill was a standard sports bar complete with rowdy sports fans, pool tables, dartboards, and giant TV's playing various sports games in almost every possible viewing space. There were only a few TV's that were not playing some type of sports game, instead playing a loop of trivial pursuit questions that customers could play along with, electronically from their tables.

When Naya and Heather showed up they found Ashley and Brad sitting at a booth with three other guys. Ashley looked a bit lost in the conversation as the boys passionately debated about college basketball and which team would go on to win the national championship in the upcoming March Madness tournament. Ashley was quite relieved to see the girls and everyone casually rearranged their seating so the girls sat at one side of the booth and two boys on the other side while Ashley's boyfriend, Brad, and his rather meathead looking colleague, Chad pulled two chairs up to the end of the table.

After about an hour of heavy sports discussion and various attempts by both Brad and Heather to segue the conversation into a topic that would include everyone, it was still abundantly clear that it would take the jaws of life to get these guys to take their minds off anything sports related. Chad had even referred to it as "the boy's club" at one point and questioned why the girls were even present when they could be out doing something like shopping. Finally, Heather managed to convince the entire group to enter into a round of electronic trivial pursuit, ensuring that they could flex their sports knowledge in the sports category of the game and find out who was the most epic sports fan of them all.

Chad easily turned it into a game of the sexes, suggesting that the girls would excel in two of the six categories while the boys would hold the monopoly on the other four and thus win the game. Undaunted, the girls accepted the challenge.

To say that the girls gave the boys a run for their money would be an understatement. By the final round of the game they were neck and neck, tied with one question to go. When the final question's category, Sports & Leisure, appeared on the screen the boys began cheering and hollering, confident that they had virtually already won the game.

Chad smugly pointed at the girls across the table. "Ha! I told you. No way ya'll are gonna win. This is the boy's club."

"Oooh, you're going down," Brad said playfully as he smiled affectionately at Ashley. For him this was just an innocent game.

"Yeah? You have to answer the question first," Heather challenged the boys.

"Oh, don't you worry, sweetheart," Chad arrogantly nodded and winked at Heather as he sat back in his seat. "We got this one."

Naya shot him a menacing look that he didn't pay attention too.

Everyone turned their attention to the screen as the final question appeared. Brad read it aloud to the table. "According to the AP Poll, which NCAA football team was the first to go 'wire-to-wire' in a single season?"

Chad was nearest the boys electronic keypad and quickly snatched it up in his hands. He adjusted his Notre Dame hat so it was backward on his head and pounded his thumbs away at the keys, forcefully and confidently hitting the send button, which locked their team's answer into the system.

"You got it?" Brad questioningly looked over at Chad.

Chad relaxed forward with his elbows on the table and a cocky smile on his face as he pointed at the Fighting Irish emblem on his hat.

"Shit," Ashley sunk down in her seat as Heather looked to be at a loss for what to do.

Naya had her eyes narrowed. She was in deep concentration about something when suddenly her eyes went wide with a realization. She reached for the girl's keypad and carefully began tapping at the letters. She hit the send button and a confident smile appeared on her face as she sat back in her seat.

"Listen, I'm sure you just put down the first football team that popped into that pretty little head of yours but you ain't winning this one. It's the Fighting Irish. We win," Chad arrogantly dismissed Naya's attempt to answer the question.

Now Heather was the one who shot Chad a scowl from across the table.

Naya cocked her eyebrow and crossed her arms. "We'll see about that."

"Dude!" One of the boys threw his hands in the air as he looked at Chad with shock. "It's not Notre Dame, you idiot. AP Poll!"

A cocky little smile graced Naya's lips as the answer appeared on the screen.

Chad's face fell with an equal amount of shock as he saw the answer flash across the screen along with the girl's winning score. His shock was quickly replaced with anger. Her threw his arm up at the screen. "Like hell it was Florida State! Notre Dame was the first college team to go wire-to-wire in a season!"

Naya leaned forward with her arms on the table, that confident smile still on her face. "That was before the AP Poll released preseason rankings. You lose. We win."

Heather's eyes went wide and her mouth hung in a silent O shape.

Chad started stammering, trying to think of something to come back at her with but he was at a loss for words.

"Dumbass," one of the boys disapprovingly punched Chad in the arm while Brad threw his head back in a hearty laugh.

"Boo yah! Sucka!" Ashley triumphantly sounded.

"Whatever," Chad stood up from his chair. "I'm getting a beer." He slumped away toward the bar, his pride obviously wounded.

Naya sat back in her seat with satisfaction written all over her face.

Heather started laughing and leaned in toward Naya. "I knew you liked watching football but I didn't know you knew obscure facts like that."

A little giggle bubbled up from Naya's chest. "I don't. I just remember my brother talking about it once."

Heather squeezed at Naya's knee underneath the table. "Still, that was kinda hot," she whispered so only Naya could hear.

Naya blushed as the corners of her mouth curled upward and her eyes averted downward.

"Alright, who's up for some pool?" Brad casually offered to no one in particular.

"Oooh!" Ashley yelped and slapped at Heather's leg, averting her attention away from Naya. "C'mon. Me and Brad versus you and Naya. Loser has to do dishes for a week."

Heather squinted her eyes for a moment as she mulled it over. "You're on!" she said suddenly as she excitedly started hurrying out of the booth.

Naya let out a small laugh as Ashley and her scooted out of the booth to follow Heather and Brad toward the pool tables.

The four of them engaged in a lighthearted game of pool while the other two boys and Chad sat at a high top table and watched one of the basketball games on TV. At the start, Ashley and Heather had decided to go best out of three in their little wager but all sense of competition was lost half-way through the first game and it turned into more of a carefree hangout between four friends. It wasn't until the third game that Heather was reminded she was actually playing for something. They had gotten to the point where they were in the third game and only the black eight ball was left on the table. Brad and Naya decided to opt out and let Ashley or Heather shoot the winning shot since it was their bet. Unfortunately, neither one of them was actually very good at pool and they'd gone five rounds of shooting without sinking the eight ball.

Ashley slumped her arms down on the edge of the pool table. She hit the eight ball, which was an improvement to her previous skill, but she had been aiming for the corner pocket and it hadn't gone in. Instead, the ball banked off the back wall of the table and stopped just to the right of the center of the table with the cue ball stopping on the same side near the opposite corner.

"Nice try, baby," Brad put his arm around Ashley as she walked back to the table and stood next to him.

Heather slumped down in her seat at their high top table. "Can't I just have you shoot for me," she held her pool stick out to Naya who was sitting next to her. "You're good at this. I suck."

Naya pushed the stick back toward Heather. "A. I have a bad habit of scratching on the eight ball. And B. You can do it."

Heather began to playfully pout.

Naya pulled her head downward and held her hands up to cover her eyes like blinders. "No. Nope, not the pout."

"Please," Heather pleaded.

"C'mon," Naya took Heather's hand and tugged her to the pool table. They both stood directly behind the eight ball to see it aligned with the far corner pocket. "Okay, here's a trick I learned back in 'Nam."

Heather let out a soft laugh.

Naya smiled and then turned her attention toward the task at hand. "Okay, pool is all about geometry and physics. You have to look at the angles."

"That sounds boring," Heather said resolutely.

Now Naya let out a soft laugh. Then she pointed toward the eight ball. "Just look at the ball. See how it's lined up with the pocket you want to hit it into?"

Heather nodded her head.

"Okay, now pick out a spot on the ball as if you were going to hit it straight on so it would go into the pocket."

Heather squinted her eyes as she looked at the table for a moment and then nodded her head. "Okay, got it."

Naya walked around to the side of the table where the cue ball was and Heather followed. Heather leaned down over her pool stick as she started setting up for her turn to shoot.

Naya leaned down beside her. "Now, aim for that spot that you picked out," she whispered.

A little smirk crossed Heather's lips as Naya stood upright behind her. Heather lined up her shot, her focus on that spot on the eight ball that she'd picked out. She drew back on the pool stick and struck the cue ball with force. The cue ball hit the eight ball at just the right angle and went straight into the corner pocket.

Heather jumped up and yelped with excitement, almost losing her grip on the pool stick. She turned around and engulfed Naya in a hug. "That was awesome! I won!"

Naya had a big smile on her face as she laughed along with Heather's excitement. "See, I told you you could do it."

Ashley hung her mouth open. "Geez, is there anything you're not good at, Naya?" She asked as Naya and Heather shuffled back to the table.

"Hey, that was all her," Naya gestured toward Heather who was still triumphantly beaming.

Just then, Chad walked up to their table with a stern look in his eyes like he was insistent on some sort of showdown. He put the triangular shaped pool rack on the tabletop and shoved it toward Naya. "Alright, rematch. You and me in a game of pool."

"No, thanks," Naya gracefully declined and nudged the triangle back toward Chad. She didn't want to embark on whatever bone he had to pick with her.

"Dude, just let it go," Brad casually said as he patted Chad on the shoulder.

Chad assumed more of tough guy posture, flexing his chest out. "What? Think your luck's gonna run out?"

Heather looked at Naya with uneasiness about how the conversation was progressing.

Naya cocked her eyebrow and conjured up the sort of sass she usually reserved for when she was in front of the camera. "Listen, I don't want to kick your ass in pool and wound your pride anymore than it is because obviously you wouldn't be able to handle losing to a girl twice in one day."

Heather started laughing and then looked over at Chad. "Hashtag Burn," she said in a matter-of-fact sort of way.

Ashley began snickering.

Brad placed his hand on Chad's shoulder, trying to hold back any sort of hostility that might be building. "Dude, don't worry about it. She had a slight advantage. Her brother plays NCAA. He's a tight end for Tennessee."

"Oh really?" Chad cocked his eyebrow. "I bet he keeps his end real tight for a lot of guys on that faggy team," he shot back at her.

Everyone at the table froze and any amount of cheery or casual nature was replaced with utter shock at what had just been said.

Naya started to ball her hand up into a fist under the table. Her mouth hung agape as she turned her head to the side trying to hold back the initial pangs of anger that had come shooting through her body. She was fuming. Heather reached to place her hand on Naya's knee under the table so she could try and steady her but Naya was already moving to stand up.

Brad shook his head in disapproval. "Low blow, man. That was uncalled for."

Naya took hold of the triangular pool rack on the table and shoved it into Chad's flexed out chest. "Rack 'em," she demanded.

Chad tried to maintain his tough guy attitude but it was obvious that he was now slightly intimidated. He took hold of the triangle and made an audible gulp as he watched Naya select a pool stick from the rack on the wall.

With worried eyes, Heather looked on at Naya as she chalked up her pool stick. She looked like she had tunnel vision, oblivious to anything else around her and completely focused on beating this guy. But it seemed bigger than that, like suddenly Naya had taken on the responsibility of not only defending her brother but also defending anyone who was ever called a 'fag.'

After Chad set the rack, Naya slammed the small, blue chalk square down on the table. She took a deep breath, lined up her shot to break the rack, and struck the white cue ball with confidence and certainty. She struck the ball with such force that the normal, loud cracking sound of the rack breaking apart sounded more akin to a gunshot.

* * *

It was dark by the time Naya and Heather walked out of the sports bar, the only source of light being a small streetlamp that hung over the bar entrance. Naya was trying to fish her keys out of her purse but was finding it difficult because she was laughing so much. Heather had spontaneously started beat-boxing a rap describing Naya's undeniable victory over Chad. She had been beat-boxing through the whole parking lot on their way to the car.

Heather followed Naya to the driver side of the car and put her hands on Naya's hips, swaying them around to the beat she'd come up with as Naya kept giggling, unsuccessful in her attempt to find her keys. Heather kept swaying Naya's hips to the beat until she eventually found an ending to her spontaneous rap. Naya was still trying to catch her breath from laughing so much.

"And the award tonight for pure awesomeness goes to?" Heather leaned in toward Naya, their faces almost touching. "The most beautiful and badass girl I know," she smirked.

"Beautiful and badass?" Naya smirked back.

"Damn right, you are." Heather kissed her long and good against the car door, assured that it was okay under the cover of darkness.

When Heather drew back she bounced up on her toes and had that dorky smile on her face. That buoyant feeling she had earlier in the day was back and coursing through her body. "Let's go do something else. I don't wanna go home yet."

"Okay, anything you want," Naya nodded forward. "Within reason," she added.

"Of course," Heather agreed and then brought her pointer finger up to her lips, looking off to the side as she was thinking. Her eyes suddenly went bright as she drew her mouth open. "Bowling!"

"Bowling?" Naya's brow shot up.

"Yeah!" Heather bounced up on her toes again. "I haven't gone bowling in forever. It's so much fun. Let's do it."

"Alright," Naya was a little surprised but just went with it anyway. "Bowling it is."

They got in the car and used their smart phones to try and find any bowling alleys in the area. After driving around for about thirty minutes, Heather pointed out a blinking neon sign for a bowling alley that hadn't been on the list of places they'd looked up on their phones. It was drab and run down and looked like it was barely maintained or hadn't received any improvements since the mid 80's. The inside of the building matched the outside perfectly. Everything was severely outdated, from the posters on the walls to the arcade machines. The only thing modern looking was the digital jukebox.

On the plus side, the place looked to be completely vacant except for a couple occupying a lane on the far side of the building. There was no one at the main desk but they could hear the faint sound of a TV coming from somewhere behind the wall of shoes. Heather bounced the palm of her hand on top of the metal ringer sitting on the counter and an older looking man shuffled out of a back room, presumably where the TV sound was coming from. He was friendly, soft spoken and reserved, offering them a warm smile as he provided them with a lane and shoes.

Heather was the first to go and effortlessly knocked down seven pins. When it was Naya's turn, she stepped up to the line where the lane began and fumbled to hold her bright pink bowling ball correctly, eventually choosing to hold it from the bottom with two hands instead. She pushed the ball out from her chest and it ungracefully dropped with a thud and fell into the gutter halfway down the lane. Heather started snickering from her seat behind the score screen.

Naya scrunched her nose and turned around on her heels. "I think we found something I'm not good at."

"Well yeah, not when you just shove the ball into the lane like that," Heather smiled charmingly and tilted her head.

Naya leaned her arm against the ball-resurfacing machine. "I think it's safe to say that you'll win at this game."

"Oh, who cares about the score," Heather swatted her hand out. "C'mon, I'm gonna show you a little trick I learned back in 'Nam." She stood up and winked at Naya as she grabbed the pink ball that had just spun out of the machine.

Heather walked up to the space just in front of where the lane began with Naya standing right next to her. Heather held the ball out to Naya and moved to stand behind her. She took hold of Naya's hips. "Alright, put your feet together and square off your hips to the center of the lane."

Naya shuffled her feet together.

"You're left handed so use the strength in your left arm to hold the ball up in the palm of your hand with your fingers in the holes."

Naya began snickering.

Realizing what she'd said, Heather hung her head forward on Naya's shoulder and began snickering as well. She flicked at Naya's arm. "Mind outta the gutter."

"But I'm obviously good at putting it there."

Heather kept snickering and drew in a quick breath to help stop herself. "We'll save that for later," she spoke softly into Naya's ear.

Feeling Heather's breath in her ear caused Naya to shudder with a thrilling sensation for a quick second.

"Concentrate," Heather said.

Naya's lips curled upward. "I can't with you whispering in my ear like that."

Heather drew her head back from beside Naya's. "C'mon, just try."

Naya closed her eyes and nodded her head, refocusing herself. She took a breath and held the ball just in front of her chest. "Okay."

"Okay, now aim just to the left of the center pin," Heather continued.

Naya squinted her eyes, aiming down the lane.

Heather let go of Naya's hips and moved to stand next to her. "Now it's easier if you think of this next part like choreography. Draw the ball all the way back as you step forward with your left foot. Then transfer all your weight forward as you step forward with your right foot. At the same time, swing your arm down and then out like you're going to point at the spot where you're aiming and let go of the ball." Heather stepped back to give Naya some space.

Naya was hesitant for a moment, took a breath, and then did exactly as Heather had instructed. She squinted her eyes shut as she let go of the ball and heard it roll down the lane. Then she popped one eye open to see the ball knock down four pins as they tumbled around on the wood floor of the lane.

"Woohoo!" Heather threw her arms in the air and ran up behind Naya, wrapping her arms around Naya's waist. "See, you can do it. Just like how you taught me to shoot the eight ball."

Naya let out a giggle and slid her arms over Heather's. "I think you're a faster learner than me."

Heather tightened her arms around Naya, drawing their bodies closer together. "You know what helps?" Heather spoke softly into Naya's ear again.

"What?" Naya hummed.

"A little music," Heather whispered.

Naya let out a little laugh and tossed her head back. "Oh my God, you're right. I thought it sounded weird in here. We need music."

Heather kissed Naya's cheek and then spun her around so they faced each other. "Wanna go pick something on the jukebox while I take my turn?"

"Sure. Any requests?"

Heather bounced her brows up. "Something good."

Naya browsed through the music on the jukebox and found that, despite that it was a modern jukebox, most of the music to choose from was either oldies or Pop, Rock, and R&B from the 60's, 70's, and 80's. She put in five dollars, which bought her about fifteen songs. She chose from an array of artists including Elton John, Aretha Franklin, Billy Joel, and her favorite, Michael Jackson. She had one credit left when she came across the entire Abbey Road album. She instantly wished she had thought of that before and thought carefully about which song she would choose to play off the album. After some deliberation she chose "Octopus's Garden." She opted to move the song to the top of the list and pressed the button that would start the playlist of songs she'd chosen.

The lights over the lanes suddenly switched off from their drab and standard fluorescent lighting, and various colored spotlights started shining all around instead. Naya hadn't even noticed those before and was happily surprised. The whole room was dim except for the purple, green, pink and blue colors that now zoomed all over the walls and the shimmer of a disco ball that hung from the center of the room. It kind of looked like the whole place was under water now, like they'd suddenly been transported to the bottom of the ocean through a spectacle of lights.

As Naya walked down the few steps that led to their lane, she saw Heather with her tie-dye ball in hand and a big grin on her face. "Cosmic bowling!" She hoisted the tie-dye ball in the air and set it down again on the track of the resurfacing machine.

Naya giggled and then crossed her arms with a puzzled look on her face. "I dunno why the music isn't playing though. I had a bunch of songs picked out."

Heather shrugged. "This place looks old. It probably takes a minute."

Just then, the opening guitar riff to "Octopus's Garden" sounded out of the speakers. Heather eyes suddenly went bright. "I love this song!" she excitedly yelped as she jumped up and down.

A big smile crossed Naya's face as Heather ran over to her. Heather took hold of Naya's hand and a bubbly laugh escaped her chest again as Heather tugged her out to the open space in front of their lane. They sang and danced around to the song, completely forgetting about anything to do with bowling. Heather knew all the words to the song and sang them out, as they shook their hips and bobbed their heads and shuffled their feet to the beat, dancing with each other like they didn't have any other care in the world. Heather took Naya's hand and twirled her around several times and as the song approached its end Heather pointed to Naya whenever the words 'with you' came up in the lyrics. At the very end of the song Heather took hold of Naya's hand to twirl her around one more time, only this time she caught the back of Naya's waist with her arm and dipped her down, both of them helplessly smiling as Heather kissed her.

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. It ended up being a lot longer than I expected. I felt like such a goober the whole time I was writing it. I'll try and have the next one up as soon as possible. In the meantime, reviews are always appreciated so leave one if you'd like.


	13. In Plain Sight

**A/N:** Aaaand we're back! Sorry for the long wait. There was an unintended hiatus that took place due to scheduling conflicts but we're back now, so let's get to it. Happy Reading!

The song used to soundtrack a scene toward the end of this chapter is "Something In The Water" by Brooke Fraser. It's meant to start at the line, "…the girls suddenly heard a fast and forceful spraying noise…" and continues all the way to the next line break.

Something in the Water - watch?v=ajkSb3M2UJU

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch. 13 In Plain Sight**

Naya was practically chewing her own bottom lip to shreds as she tightened her grip on the steering wheel. She was doing everything in her power to concentrate on the road but Heather was making it insanely difficult.

It had started a little bit after they left the bowling alley. Heather had simply taken Naya's hand and started lightly tracing her fingertips over Naya's palm. She eventually moved to tracing her fingertips up and down Naya's arm. By the time they were halfway home Heather had moved her hand in between Naya's legs, her fingertips going up and down the inside of her thigh. Every time Heather's fingers went up her leg she'd go higher and higher until she started getting dangerously close to her center. Naya was gradually getting more and more wound up as they drove home. By now she was so sensitive to every touch that she was about ready to burst, and now Heather was leaning over the center console, lightly sucking and nipping at Naya's ear and neck.

"You have no idea how incredibly sexy you've been all day," Heather said into Naya's ear before she started sucking on it again. Just then, she squeezed at the inside of her thigh.

Naya took in a sharp breath and her fingers curled further around the wheel. She let out a low and whiney little moan while her eyes started to involuntarily close from the pleasure of Heather's tongue which had darted out to lick the inside of her ear.

Naya opened her eyes a sliver and saw that she was slowly coasting into the opposite lane. Her eyes quickly became alert and she jerked the wheel so the car could properly be in their lane again. "Jesus! Heather!"

Heather pulled her head back from Naya's ear. "Sorry," she let out a small laugh.

Naya's breath was shallow and she could barely speak from all the knotting and tension that had wound up between her legs. She took a gulp and kept her eyes on the road. "I'm gonna end up running us off the road if you keep doing that."

Heather cocked her eyebrow. "You don't like it?" she innocently asked, knowing perfectly well that she was in fact driving Naya insane with sexual frustration.

"No, I like it!" Naya was quick to correct her. "It's just…" she started furiously chewing on her bottom lip again as Heather continued to trace her fingers up and down her thigh. "Ugh! Why do I have to be operating a potentially deadly piece of machinery right now?"

Heather smirked, leaned over again and began sensually sucking on that small sweet spot on Naya's neck, her tongue caressing it as she squeezed at her leg once more.

Naya's left leg started uncontrollably bouncing up and down against the side of the car as she let out another prolonged and whiney moan.

After a small moment Heather retracted her head, smirking as she sat back in her passenger seat, her hands in her lap.

Naya let out a shuddering breath and shifted her eyes to Heather. "You are such a tease."

Heather smirked again and tilted her head. "I kinda like watching you squirm," she chuckled.

Naya trained her eyes back to the road, gripping the steering wheel tight with both hands as she leaned her head back on the headrest and tried to take a few controlled breaths.

Heather started giggling even more, giddy with the idea that she could get Naya riled up so easily. To an extent she felt bad that she'd teased her like that but she couldn't help herself. She had wanted to touch her like that almost all day.

Once Naya had parked in her driveway, Heather got out pretending as if nothing even remotely interesting had happened in the car just moments ago. She wanted one last chance to tease Naya a bit before she had to go home. She started fishing her keys out of her purse.

"Oh no ya don't." Naya hurried out of the car and around the front to the passenger side.

Heather still had that little smirk on her face as she took a step toward her faded yellow VW bug, which was parked on the street in front of Naya's house.

With agile and light steps Naya stepped in front of Heather. "You're not getting away that easy." She lightly pushed against Heather's stomach until she was against the side of the car.

Heather bounced her eyebrow up and spoke in a sultry tone. "Oh yeah? What are you gonna do about it?"

Naya placed her hands around the curve of Heather's waist, her thumbs playing just under the hem of Heather's shirt. She pressed her body against Heather's and kissed her with a restless and rather wet kiss, doing that thing with her tongue that Heather loved.

Heather tossed her purse to the ground and snaked her arms around Naya's neck. They both giggled a little bit at the sound of the keys clanking to the ground.

Both of them were voracious in their appetite for each other. Heather kept enveloping Naya's bottom lip like it was her favorite candy in the world. And then Naya's tongue began smoothly gliding across Heather's as her hands roamed all around Heather's sides and stomach, down to her butt and back up again.

They both felt the sort of deep, earnest desire and yet fresh, young innocence normally associated with something akin to teenage love. They might as well have been a couple of high school kids making out under the bleachers, not a care in the world except for wanting each other.

Heather moved to kissing down Naya's neck and then up to her ear. She couldn't explain it. Heather just loved the way Naya's earlobe felt in her mouth, how she could play around with it with her tongue and how her lips formed around it.

With her hands Naya added some light pressure to the small of Heather's back. Her eyes closed, surrendering to the heightened sensation of Heather nibbling and sucking on her ear. A high-pitched little moan escaped her mouth.

Heather moved down Naya's neck and Naya craned her head to the side, her hand coursing up Heather's back. Naya's voice came out sounding like it might float away. "Are you sure you have to go home tonight?"

Heather brought her lips to Naya's again, sucking on her bottom lip a tad too long so that it was now slightly swollen. "Yeah, I have to be up early. Ashley and I are shooting DHDA stuff tomorrow."

Naya pouted and there was a small moment where both of them thought they should pull away and end their night, but they didn't. They just leaned further into each other, their noses lightly grazing against each other before Naya captured Heather in another slow and sensual kiss, their lips connecting like magnets.

Heather gave in to how velvety and soft Naya's lips felt and Naya leaned forward, pinning their bodies against the car. Naya's thumbs slipped just under Heather's shirt and coursed over the smooth skin of her stomach. She kissed all along Heather's jaw and down to the crook of her neck, taking the time to taste Heather's skin on her tongue.

Heather was having an internal tug of war. She had this amazing tingling sensation all over her body and she felt like she was slowly melting away the more Naya kissed her. She didn't want Naya to stop because every kiss and touch felt incredible but she also knew that she had to sleep in her own bed tonight. As much as she didn't want to, she forced herself to move her neck away from Naya's lips and put her hand around the side of Naya's face guiding it back up so they were at eye level again. "Okay, okay. I have to go or else I'll never get home."

Naya smirked as she brought her eyes back up to Heather's. "I'd be okay with that." She moved her hands to simply rest around Heather's waist, knowing that although both of them were reluctant to do so, they would eventually have to part for the night.

Heather rested her arms squarely over Naya's shoulders and gently pressed her forehead to Naya's, shutting her eyes and taking in the way Naya's hands felt so perfect around her waist. They stood there close together for a moment, neither one of them wanting to initiate any sort of 'goodnight.'

Finally Naya spoke quietly and with earnest candor. "Today was a really good day. I wish we could do more stuff like that. Ya know, where things are just…normal."

Heather opened her eyes and scrunched her nose. "Normal's overrated."

"You know what I mean," a small smile played across Naya's lips. "Not having to worry if someone sees us together. Just being able to go out and do whatever we want."

"Like finding random ass bowling alleys?" Heather added with a light chuckle.

Naya gave a small laugh back. Her face softened before she spoke with earnest candor once again, her eyes matching her voice as she looked deep into those stunning blue eyes. "I wanna be able to kiss you whenever I want."

A smile crossed Heather's lips. "Well maybe we just have to get a little creative."

"Creative, huh?" The corner of Naya's mouth curled upward.

"Yeah." Heather leaned in to capture Naya with another slow and loving kiss, her hands snaking further around Naya's back just under her neck. Her lips held Naya's for a prolonged moment until she abruptly pulled away. "Oooh, I got it!" she said, bouncing up on the balls of her feet. She had an idea. "Okay, so I'm busy tomorrow but what are you doing the day after?"

Naya cleared her throat trying to keep up with the sudden change and took a second to think about it. No major obligations came to mind. "My schedule is pretty flexible. What'd ya have in mind?"

With a glint in her eyes, Heather giddily scrunched her shoulders forward. "We're going on a little adventure," she smiled proudly at her own idea.

Naya's eyes squinted in cautious curiosity. "What kind of adventure?"

"It's a surprise," Heather excitedly wiggled her toes.

"You're not even gonna give me a hint?"

"Nope. You'll just have to wait." Heather gave her a quick peck on the lips before swiftly walking over to her purse on the ground, picking it up with her keys. She started walking over to her car.

Again, Naya was thrown by the sudden change. Her eyes darted around like she was searching for an answer as to why she was no longer holding Heather so close. She quickly turned around to chase after Heather as she walked to her car on the street. "Wait, what if I guess it? Will you tell me if I'm right?"

"No way!" she said as she unlocked her car. It was always hard to surprise Naya because she was so good at figuring them out. Sometimes she could figure out a surprise with the most vague or obscure clue. It was kind of freaky, like she had a sixth sense for these things. Heather was sure Naya would love this surprise adventure she had in mind but she had to make sure she didn't budge and give anything away, which might be quite hard the longer she stayed. Heather loved seeing Naya's ardent curiosity at play but it was also insanely adorable. Heather was certain that the longer she stayed the more she would give in to those curious puppy dog eyes begging for a clue.

Naya ran up behind Heather and wrapped her arms around her waist, stopping her from getting in the car. "Oh c'mon. Just a hint? A clue? Something?" She pressed her cheek to the side of Heather's face.

Heather gave Naya's arms a light squeeze. "Nope." With a giggle she twisted her head to the side to peck Naya's cheek and then opened her car door to get in.

"Pleeeease," Naya whined as she caught the edge of the door when it opened. Heather sat in her driver's seat and quickly rolled down her window with the manual crank on the side of the door.

"Goodni-ight," Heather said in a sing-songy voice and shut the door.

Naya leaned her forearms on the edge of the car with her head in the space of the open window and began to pout.

Just as she had anticipated, Naya was giving Heather those puppy dog eyes. They were so powerfully genuine that Heather couldn't help but smile at her adoringly. She leaned through the window and kissed Naya's protruding and pouty lips. "Goodnight, Naya."

"Oh yeah, like I'm gonna be able to sleep now," Naya said with a hint of sarcasm.

Heather let out a small chuckle. She knew Naya would spend most of the night and all of the next day trying to figure out what the surprise was. On that same token, Heather also knew that Naya had not been experiencing her normal insomnia as of late. In fact, it was non-existent whenever Heather and her fell asleep together, curled up in each other's arms.

Accepting that she wouldn't be getting any sort of hint or clue, Naya leaned through the window a little more, asking for one more kiss. Heather smiled as she kissed Naya one last time for the night.

Naya held Heather's lips a little longer than normal but neither one of them minded at all. "Goodnight," Naya's voice was soft and low and intimately loving.

Heather smiled and nuzzled her nose against Naya's for a second before tapping it with her finger. She turned toward the steering wheel and turned on the car.

Naya took a few steps back as Heather shifted the car into drive and drove off down the street. She stood there watching Heather's car until it turned right at the stop sign and went out of sight. She gave a small sigh, walked to her car to get her purse and went into her house.

Heather was quite right. As Naya got ready for bed she kept racking her brain trying to think of what kind of surprise Heather had up her sleeve. An adventure? It could be anything. The only thing Naya had to go off of was to expect the unexpected when it came to Heather's creativity and adventurous spirit.

While she was brushing her teeth Naya heard her phone go off on top of her dresser. It was a text message. She rushed over to her phone, her toothbrush hanging out of her mouth. It was a picture text message. Naya opened it and saw a close up picture of Heather making a cute and silly kissy face toward the phone.

_**Just in case you can't sleep…Sweet dreams**_

Naya giggled at how adorable Heather looked with her lips all squished and pushed out. It was amazing how something so perfect and simple and meant just for her could make her feel so happy. She smiled and texted back.

_**Okay, that helps, lol. Goodnight, cutie…Sweet dreams  
**_

* * *

Heather finished the last of chips and now chomped down into her sandwich, taking a huge first bite. The second the taste of her turkey club hit her mouth she felt some relief in her stomach. She and Ashley had just finished a rather full day but they hadn't eaten anything in all that time. It was now late afternoon and they had decided to go to a café to relax and get a bite to eat. They were so hungry that the minute their food arrived there was no room for conversation. Within minutes, Heather practically inhaled her chips and Ashley had finished most of her ham and swiss sandwich. Now that they were more satisfied they sat comfortably across from each other at their two person table, outside under the café awning with the sunlight cascading down on them.

Second to Naya, Ashley was the one Heather felt most comfortable with. Shortly after they'd initially met, Heather knew she'd found a best friend for life in Ashley. Without question they were birds of a feather, ready to take on anything and everything, from celebrating each other's triumphs to working on creative projects to fearlessly calling each other out on their bullshit. But the thing that really made their unconditional friendship shine was their unique and unwavering sense of humor, which often included random elements of the ridiculous and absurd. If there was anyone who could fully understand and share Heather's quirkiness, it was Ashley.

"We should get a pet monkey." Ashley said rather nonchalantly. "We can teach him to wreak havoc on unsuspecting house guests."

"And train him to use a water gun," Heather added.

"Of course. What good is a monkey if he can't use a water gun?"

Heather mulled over their new idea as she chewed her food. "We can name him Enzo, Abu's long lost brother."

"We'd have to get him a Fez hat," Ashley added, as if it were obvious.

"Or a Sultan's hat," Heather shot back with gusto. "I think Zach might get jealous though."

"Of the hat or Enzo?"

"Both." Heather cast her eyes to the side, trying to think of a solution to this imaginary problem. "We'll get him a light up hat," she quickly shrugged before chomping down on her sandwich again.

Ashley let out a boisterous laugh and tossed a chip in her mouth.

Heather wiped some of the flaky crusts of her sandwich off her hands with her napkin and sat back in her chair before she continued. "But I don't think he'll be down with Enzo encroaching on his territory. Besides, I think you need a license for a pet monkey."

Ashley took a second to think about it and shrugged as she spoke again with nonchalance. "Well Reid lives with us. There's not much difference between him and a monkey and we don't have a license for him."

Heather was covering her mouth as she laughed, trying not to spill any of the drink she had just sipped. "Oh c'mon. He's not that bad."

"Small doses." Ashley held her thumb and index finger up so they were about an inch apart. "I handle him in small doses."

Heather had her sandwich up to her mouth but stopped short of taking a bite. She tilted her head to the side and made a look, as if to say 'Really? Stop being mean.'

"Meh." Ashley shrugged. "I'm just glad he's gone until Monday." She took another bite of her sandwich.

Heather's phone made a short little sound and buzzed on the edge of the table. She smiled and picked up her phone, reading her latest text from Naya. They had been texting back and forth all day long. Just as Heather predicted, Naya was anxious to know what adventure Heather had planned for them for the following day. Naya had started off the morning with texting a few well educated guesses. Heather gave her a few vague clues like, 'Wear comfortable shoes' and 'Get your detective skills ready,' which led to a series of bantering comments about which of them would be Sherlock Holmes and which would be Watson. As the day went on Naya had completely given up on making any real attempt at figuring out what the surprise was and now her guesses were just plain ridiculous. But they continued texting back and forth throughout the day, amidst lots of joking and flirty comments.

Heather made a goofy smile toward her phone as she typed out her response and hit the send button. She was too pre-occupied to notice, but Ashley was acutely observing her the whole time, and with a wary eye.

Heather set her phone on the table and turned her attention back to where her conversation with Ashley had left off. "Cut him some slack. He's just starting out. Let him get on his feet."

"And how long is that gonna take?" There was a tone of annoyance in Ashley's voice. "He's been staying in that back room for four months now."

"He's been getting some freelance work. He just needs a steady column." Heather said casually as she took another sip of her drink. She waved her hand up as she thought of a helpful idea. "Get Brad to hook him up with an editor or something. I'm sure he knows people."

"Sports people. Not Arts & Entertainment people. The guy can list off the final scores of every NBA playoff game for the last ten years but the other day I had to explain to him that Stevie Nicks is in fact a woman," Ashley said with a strange combination of frustration and yet utterly taken by her adorably misinformed boyfriend.

"Ooh! Speaking of…" Heather finished chewing her food before she spoke again. "I forgot to tell you. I heard we're doing a Fleetwood Mac episode on the show."

"Shit, that's right," Ashley's demeanor deflated as she sat back in her seat. "You're back to work in like a week."

"And Kevin's having like an 'end of hiatus' barbeque-slash-pool party," Heather continued. "Just a small thing, like the cast and some friends but he wanted me to tell you. I just haven't had a chance to, and then I forgot to tell you yesterday."

Heather's phone sounded and buzzed on the table once again. A bright smile crossed her face as she grabbed it and read the text. Every time her phone got a text it stole all of her attention and the behavior did not go unnoticed by Ashley. In fact, Ashley was growing more frustrated with the interruption in conversation.

Heather typed out a reply and set her phone back down, her eyes averting back to Ashley, unobservant of her growing annoyance towards Heather's phone.

"Yeah, well I'm surprised I even got to see you yesterday," Ashley commented very pointedly.

Heather was slightly confused at the harsh undertone of Ashley's voice. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Just that I haven't seen you a lot lately," Ashley shrugged, not sure if she wanted to release the full depth of her frustration.

"You see me at the house."

"That's not the same," Ashley impulsively snapped back.

Heather was taken aback by Ashley's continued hard tone. "Geez, first Reid. Now me. Irritable much?"

"Sorry…" Ashley unconvincingly apologized. Her annoyance was still there and she vehemently continued. "But I mean, when was the last time we honest-to-god hung out?"

"We hung out yesterday."

"That doesn't count," Ashley sternly countered. "Today's like literally the first day in a while that we've been able to just hang out. You and me. And shoot the proverbial shit together. I need an update on your life."

"I've just been…" Heather's eyes averted to the side and then downward as she tried searching for a half-way decent excuse but was unable to come up with one. She finally shrugged. "…keeping busy."

Ashley was visibly dissatisfied.

Just then, Heather's phone sounded and buzzed on the table once again. Both girls shot their attention toward the phone.

Heather made to grab her phone but Ashley quickly snatched it up in her hands. "And who do you keep texting all day? Seriously, it's like you're not even here with me," she scolded as she took up the phone and looked at the name on the most recent text message.

There was a momentary panic as Heather prayed to God that the last few text messages didn't have any flirty content. She ran them through her head and relaxed a little when she realized the content was nothing overly flirty, just joking.

Ashley held the phone up to her eye level and reacted to the name she saw with both surprise and further annoyance. "Naya? Seriously? This is who you've been texting all day? I thought it was Taylor or some new guy you met. You two don't get enough of each other at work?"

Once again, Heather stammered to find a half-way decent excuse and ended up not saying much at all. She hadn't thought of a way to cover up any direct questions Ashley might have about Heather's increase in time spent with Naya. Heather had wanted to tell Ashley but didn't want to tell her at the same time. They didn't really keep a whole lot of secrets from each other. They could usually talk about anything and everything. Honestly, Heather just didn't know how to say it. She didn't want Ashley to somehow think differently of her.

Ashley continued, now expressing some of her recent observations. "Do you realize you've slept over at her house like three nights out of the past week? What, are you two planning to take over the world? Is she blackmailing you or something?"

Heather thought of a joke that might allow her to avoid answering the question and possibly steer the conversation toward something more lighthearted. "I'm Pinky. She's Brain. Collectively, we are known as Brinky," she laughed it off.

There was no indication of any amusement on Ashley's part.

"Oh c'mon. That's funny," Heather tried to justify it.

Ashley considered it for a moment. "Okay, that was clever. Plus you get bonus points for the 90's reference," she cracked a small smile. However, Ashley wasn't going to let Heather off the hook that easily. Avoiding confrontation with a laugh or a joke was Heather's classic defense mechanism. Something was up and Ashley wanted to get to the bottom of it, so she pressed further. "You still haven't answered me though."

Heather opened her mouth to say something even though she had absolutely no clue what to say. Just then, her phone started ringing in Ashley's hand. She was getting a call.

Ashley's eyes went a little wider as she saw Naya's name flashing across the screen of the phone. She impulsively answered the call and held the phone up to her ear.

Naya didn't even wait for a 'hello' and enthusiastically started talking the second there was an indication that the phone had been answered. "Okay, I got it! We're going—"

Ashley quickly cut her off. "Rivera! You have hijacked my roommate and kidnapped my friend."

"Whoa! You're not Heather," Naya responded with obvious surprise.

"I'm holding her hostage from you today," Ashley adamantly stated.

Heather stood up from her seat and crossed the side of the table, reaching for the phone and snatching it away from Ashley. "Give me that, you crazy ass," she scolded.

Heather held the phone up to her ear and turned away to walk a few paces from the table. She made her conversation with Naya short, promising to call back later when she got home. As she sat back down at the table she made sure to turn her phone on silent. It was hard to ignore the fact that Ashley was very visibly frustrated and fuming as she sat with her arms crossed and glaring at Heather.

Heather was nervous about stepping into this conversation but it had to be addressed. "What's gotten into you?"

"I'm just…I miss hanging out with you." Ashley threw her arms up. "Ya know, like we used to."

"We hang out. We see each other at home and stuff and—"

"Yeah, but it's not the same!" Ashley snapped and then immediately retracted. She lowered her tone of voice and forced herself to become a little more calm while remaining stern in her point. "When we're at home now, Reid's there. So it's not the same as before. That's if you even care to be at home instead of at Naya's house."

Ashley had made a very valid point. Things weren't as jovial or comfortable at home ever since Reid had moved in. But Ashley obviously had some gripe about Naya too. Heather started frantically searching her mind for an excuse. "Well, you've been busy too. Our schedules just haven't been working out lately. That doesn't mean you have to go blame Naya for it."

"It's just…" Ashley brought her hand to her forehead like she wanted to scrunch all the jumbled and irritating thoughts out of her mind. "She gets to see you all the time at work and now you spend practically all your free time with her while I've barely gotten to see you at all while you've been on hiatus."

Heather threw the accusation right back in her face. "Oh you mean like when you started dating Brad? You were constantly over at his place and spending every waking moment with him when you first started seeing each other and I barely got to see you."

"Yeah, but that's different," Ashley defended. "He's my boyfriend. You can't get mad at me for spending time with my boyfriend, especially when we first started dating. You know how crazy I was about him at the beginning."

Heather began stammering to find the words to express herself. She was becoming annoyed and frustrated with the argument. "Ugh!" She threw her hands up like she wanted to quit. "I don't wanna fight. Okay? I'm sorry. I'm sorry I haven't been making time to hang out with you."

Ashley didn't like where the conversation had gone either. She didn't like seeing how both of them had made each other upset. Her face became apologetic as the harsh undertones of her voice softened. "No, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to start to a fight."

There was some silence as they both took a minute to cool their tempers. Heather felt bad for getting into an argument with Ashley. There were some very valid points that she had brought to light, and Heather knew that part of the problem was that Ashley didn't know the full story. She didn't know the context with which Heather and Naya had been spending so much time together. It was one thing to talk to Dianna about all that. It was kind of hard not to because she'd been somewhat caught in the crossfire from the beginning. But Heather felt like telling Ashley was a different story. There was more weight to it. Heather had been so excited about everything happening with Naya, she so desperately wanted to tell Ashley everything so she could gush to her about it because she wanted to share this huge and brilliant new part of her life with her best friend. But the truth was that her fear of saying all of it out loud, her fear of possibly blindsiding Ashley and turning their friendship on its head was outweighing her excitement to tell her.

It was obvious that Heather was internally beating herself up and she shook her head with guilt. "No, you were right to call me out on that. I've been a shitty friend."

"You're not a shitty friend." Ashley was quick to respond. "You're _my_ friend, which automatically makes you more awesome than like 99% of the population." They both started smiling a little bit and let out a few chuckles before Ashley continued. "It's just, ya know, what you said. Our schedules aren't in sync right now," she shrugged it off, wanting to put an end to any sort of further argument.

Heather's face became apologetic as a few more pangs of guilt hit the pit of her stomach. She impulsively decided that she shouldn't hold back from telling Ashley about such an amazing thing. After all, they were best friends. "Listen, Ash—"

Ashley cut her off, laying on even more apologies. "And I didn't mean to go blaming Naya. You know I think Naya's cool as hell. I guess I just got a little jealous, ya know, like I was being shafted in the friend department."

Heather's face softened with surprise as she was immediately caught off guard with Ashley's candor. She would never want Ashley to feel like she wasn't valued as an irreplaceable friend. A small smile spread across Heather's face as she shook her head. "Never. Best friends for life, remember?"

Ashley smiled back, glad that there was some resolution to their little tiff. She made one last offer to make it better. "Look, how about we schedule a Hemo/Ashley fun day this week? No DHDA stuff or working on scripts or letting other people join in. It'll just be you and me fun time, like back in the day."

"Which was a Wednesday, by the way," Heather lightheartedly joked.

Ashley began to laugh again and joked right back. "We can go shopping for Enzo."

Heather began to laugh as well and their conversation returned to the lighthearted and slightly ridiculous prospect of finding a pet monkey as they finished their sandwiches.

* * *

_Knock-knock-knock_

Naya swung her front door open and immediately started laughing. It was Heather. She was standing there wearing a pair of oversized, neon green sunglasses that were about ten times too big for her face, and a huge half-yellow, half-blue Afro wig. Naya had given up on any sense of expectation for the surprise adventure Heather had planned, but if this was how the day was starting off then they were certainly in for an interesting day.

Heather, pretending to be completely oblivious to the ridiculous items she was wearing, merely tilted her head to the side as if she were curious as to why Naya would be busting up laughing so much. "What, do I have something on my face?" Heather was trying to keep up her facade of nonchalance but Naya's laughing was starting to make her snicker.

"You look super fly," Naya said through broken giggling.

Heather started busting up laughing now. The facade of the joke was broken and they just laughed together for a moment as they stood in the doorway.

"You ready to go?" Heather said as she removed her oversized sunglasses and the wig.

"Yep," Naya said as she looked down and pointed at her feet. "I've got comfortable shoes like you said and I can go grab my fedora if you want me to look at least a little bit like a detective."

"Hmm," Heather hummed as she squished her finger to her lips, thinking it over. Her eyes slowly ran up and down Naya's body. "I bet you'd make a pretty sexy detective. I wouldn't mind seeing you in a movie like that."

Naya cocked her eyebrow and responded with a playfully seductive tone of voice, "Well who says it has to be a movie when I can just give you a private viewing right now?"

Heather bit down on her lip. Naya was quite the little temptress, especially with the way her eyes were gliding up and down Heather's body now and with a little smirk on her face. That was another new thing Heather had recently learned about Naya. When she was willing to let her impulses surface her sexual drive could go from zero to sixty in a second flat, and Heather found it to be quite enticing and a major turn on. The way Naya was looking at her, it was enough for her to momentarily consider scrapping all the plans she'd made for the day.

Heather shook her head a little to clear some of the more erotic thoughts bubbling up in her mind. "And you call me a tease?"

"Hey, I'm just putting it out there as an option," Naya justifiably put her hands up, like she could take it or leave it.

Heather started to giggle and let the moment fizzle out a little before she spoke again. "No, we gotta go. We have a lot of places to be today," she said as she bounced up on the balls of her feet. She was excited about revealing this surprise to Naya. All of their texting amidst Naya's many attempts at guessing from the day before had amplified Heather's anticipation. She had put a lot of thought into this and knew Naya would love it. She just had to be very calculated about it so Naya wouldn't figure out what they were doing for the day too soon.

"Okay, okay, Super-Fly," Naya joked with a smile as she grabbed her purse, closed the front door and locked it.

"I could get used to that nickname," Heather commented as they walked towards her car.

"Can I have one more guess?" Naya practically skipped the next few steps. She was just as giddy as Heather about embarking on their little adventure.

"Naya, I'm gonna give you your first clue in like two seconds." Heather rolled her eyes and then smiled softly when she saw Naya playfully pouting her lips out. "Okay, one more guess."

"We're running away to join the circus?" Naya jokingly asked.

Heather began laughing again as she opened the back door of her car. "Nice try but, nope." She tipped her Afro wig up at Naya who was getting in on the other side of the car. Heather threw her props in the back seat next to her backpack before getting behind the wheel of the driver's seat.

"So then what's with the wig and sunglasses?" Naya commented as they sat in the car. Heather hadn't turned it on yet.

Heather glanced back at the props. "We'll be out around town so if we run into any paparazzi we can just throw the wig and sunglasses on. They won't even know it's us," she joked.

"Oh yeah, I'm sure we'll really blend in with those disguises." Naya couldn't seem to stop laughing. "Where'd you find those anyway?"

"They were lying around the house," Heather shrugged. "Just thought it'd be funny."

"How am I not surprised?" Naya fastened her seatbelt. "Mission accomplished."

Heather had a proud little smile on her face as she did the same.

Naya's knees were anxiously bouncing up and down. "Okay, enough stalling. What's the surprise? What are we doing today?"

"Are you good with maps?" Heather asked as she started the car.

Naya was a little confused. "Yeah, I guess. I can read them," she shrugged.

"Good!" Heather started driving down the street. "Because you're going to be the navigator today."

"Huh?" Naya tilted her head in further confusion.

"Grab my phone."

Naya picked up Heather's phone from the cup holder. There was an application open called 'GeoCaching.' On the screen was a map of Naya's neighborhood with a starred and pinpointed location in the middle of a park about half a mile away. The GPS on the phone had a solid blue line extending from their location in the car all the way to the starred location in the park.

"We're going here?" Naya held the screen up.

"Yep," Heather nodded her head. "But you gotta tell me how to get there. You're the navigator."

She zoomed in on the map. "Okay, turn left at the stop sign and then go straight until you see the park on your left."

Naya continued to investigate the map on the phone. It was an easy route to get to the park. She usually passed by it every day, to and from work. It was a very specific location in the park that was noted on the map though. It piqued Naya's curiosity as to what awaited them there. She zoomed out on the map to see the greater Los Angeles area. On the map were several other starred and pinpointed locations that started at the park and extended all the way out to the beach. "We're going to all of these places?" She held the phone up again.

Heather nodded.

"Well what are we doing there?"

A small smile played across Heather's lips. "We have to find something at each place."

"What are we trying to find?"

"No idea." Heather plainly stated. "It'll be a different container at each place. It's called a 'cache.'" She pronounced 'cache' as if she were saying 'cash.'

Now Naya was severely confused. She looked back at the map again. She had no idea where this day was going. The only thing she knew at the moment was that they were trying to get to their first point on the map.

"We'll have a better idea of where to look and what we're looking for when we get there," Heather added.

"How?"

Heather was getting antsy. If she gave any more clues away Naya would surely figure it out. But she was too excited to see that sense of discovery on Naya's face. She gave in. "Okay, click on the star for each location and it'll give you a description of what we're looking for and hints to help us figure out where to find it. Once we get to the park and start walking we'll have to use the compass on the app to get a better idea of where we're supposed to look for whatever item we're supposed to find there."

Naya quickly turned her attention back to the phone and clicked on the star right next to the location in the park. The description had GPS coordinates, a compass icon and an information icon. Naya clicked on the information icon and read the instructions:

_Cache: Old army ammo box. If you take anything, leave something behind. Be sure to sign and date the log sheet. Hint: 1. Near where L and P hang out. 2. This one may stump you. Difficulty: 2.0, Terrain: 1.5, Awesomeness: 3.0, Size: 3.0_

Heather could see the park on her left. She came to a slow stop, parking her car next to the curb and on the opposite side of the street. She watched as Naya continued reading the description on the phone. She could see the wheels turning in her head, and then…it clicked.

Naya whipped her head up, her eyes wide with a sense of discovery. "Wait, so it's like treasure hunting!"

"Yep" Heather had a huge smile on her face as she nodded. "Except we have no idea what we'll find and the treasure map is the entire world. It's called Geocaching."

"Cool!" Naya turned her attention back to the phone and clicked on the compass icon. She pointed toward the far corner of the park. "We have to go that way. We're looking for an old army ammo box."

Heather laughed adoringly at Naya as both of them got out of the car. They crossed the street and began walking, hand in hand, across a huge stretch of grass that led to a corner of the park that was lightly forested.

Heather was happy that Naya was so excited about this type of adventure. In her experience, whenever she tried to explain what Geocaching was, some people thought it was nerdy or dorky or just plain weird. Heather would go geocaching from time to time and always loved it. The idea of people hiding things for others to find using a map, a compass, and a clever hint, always made Heather feel like she was Indiana Jones or a pirate or one of those old time explorers. And the containers were always filled with various items but they held no monetary value. They were typically things like unusual coins, trinkets or small toys. The real thrill, however, was the sense of adventure and discovery in trying to find the cache box. The only thing that made this particular instance about ten times more fun was that Naya seemed to be just as, if not more, excited than Heather about it. She was practically skipping across the field as she pulled Heather along.

Once they passed the clearing to where the trees were they began venturing down a small dirt path. Naya was clutching the phone in her hand, consulting the compass every few feet to make sure they were going in the right direction. "Okay, it says we're twenty feet away."

"What's the hint? We probably have to rely more on that now. The compass is usually off by twenty or thirty feet."

Naya consulted the phone again. "It says, 'Near where L and P hang out,' and 'This one may stump you.'"

They both surveyed the surrounding area. Along each side of the path were mostly scattered trees and shrubs of various sizes.

"Let's try looking near some of the trees." Heather suggested. "It'll probably be hidden somewhere we're not expecting."

Naya put the phone in her back pocket and they both went off to an area just to the right of the path. They glanced over the ground and looked around the base of various trees and shrubs but didn't see anything resembling an ammo box.

Heather pushed a few small and feeble branches out of the way as she walked forward passed a rather large bush. There was nothing but trees in front of her. She could hear the dry dirt beneath her feet crunching as she took a few unsure steps forward.

"I don't see anything over here," Naya called out from about fifteen feet to Heather's right.

Heather slowly looked around at all the trees in front of her. Her eyes flitted over the trunk of a tree that was about five feet in front of her and little to her left. After a second her eyes darted back to that specific tree. "I think I found something!" she called out to Naya.

Heather bounded over to the tree to take a closer look. She could distinctly make out something that had been carved into the tree trunk.

_L + P _

She smiled warmly at the discovery.

Naya suddenly came running up next to her. "What'd you—" she looked up at the tree trunk. "Whoa! You found a clue!" She swept her arms around Heather's waist and Heather's arm automatically went around Naya.

"Way to go," Naya smiled warmly and gave her a peck on the cheek.

Heather's smile grew even wider.

Just then, Naya glanced to the side, where the big bush across from the tree was. She did a double take and started snickering, her body bubbling and bouncing with laughter as Heather had her arm around her.

"What is it?" Heather asked.

Naya just pointed toward the large bush across from the tree. Heather turned around and saw a large, hollowed out tree stump, which sat almost all the way up next to the large bush. They walked over to the stump and peered inside as they stood side by side. There was a small army ammo box scantily concealed with a few leaves over it.

"Okay, now that's pretty clever," Naya continued laughing.

Heather cleared the leaves and pulled the box out. "Well we found it."

"Our first geocache."

"We're a pretty dynamic duo," Heather giggled out as she set the box on the edge of the stump. "You wanna do the honors?" She held her hand out toward the box.

Naya reached for the latch on the side of the ammo box and popped it open. Inside was a small, reporter's style notebook with a pen in the spiral and the box was filled with little trinkets and toys. Heather pulled out the notebook and started flipping through it.

Naya pulled out an old Polly Pocket toy. "I remember these things!" She opened it up and took out the small, thumbnail size plastic doll. She held it up and looked at it with nostalgia and curiosity.

Heather started snickering at the sight of the toy. "I once electrocuted myself with one of those."

"What?" Naya exclaimed with astonishment.

"Yeah," Heather continued laughing. "I put the doll into a plug outlet. I have a scar on my ring finger from when the sparks flew out and everything." She held up her left hand, looking at the faint, small scar on her finger.

Naya nodded her head up and down. "That explains a lot actually."

"Hey," Heather poked at her stomach. "I was five," she defended. "I was smart about it though. I did it in a doctor's office."

Naya reached for Heather's hand, looking closely at the scar on her finger. "I was wondering what that was from." She looked at it a moment longer and then gently placed a small kiss where the scar was.

Heather smiled affectionately and clasped their hands together, intertwining their fingers as their hands dropped between them. With her other hand she held out the notebook in front of them. "Wanna sign it?"

Naya slid the pen out of the spiral. There were about ten other signatures on the page, the last dated signature being from two months prior. On the next available line she signed their first names and the date as Heather held the notebook up for her.

Heather mentally noted this moment as an addition to the growing list of her favorite moments with Naya. There was nothing overly romantic or funny about it. It was a simple sort of moment really. What she liked was that they had worked together to find something and they were having fun doing it. They had made a discovery together, something that not a whole lot of people find and could furthermore be absolutely meaningless to the vast majority of people, but because they had done it together, it was special somehow.

Naya flipped the pages of the notebook closed and slid the pen back in the spiral. Heather placed the notebook back in the box. She closed the top of the box and Naya fastened the latch. Heather placed the box back in the hollowed out stump and Naya scattered some of the leaves over top.

Simultaneously, they looked at each other with warm smiles and shared a quick kiss.

Naya gave Heather's hand a light squeeze. "C'mon. I wanna see what else we're gonna find today."

Heather was nothing but smiles as they walked back through the forested area and back to the car, with Naya curiously looking at the map on the phone and excitedly rambling on about where their next geocache was.

* * *

Their second geocache was at a much more urban spot. It was a small tube that was magnetically attached to a stop sign. They easily spotted it, signed the log sheet that was rolled up in the tube and went on to their next location.

Their third geocache was located in an art park with various sculptures and abstract structures in it. It even had a main building with a small museum. To one side was a large hill lined with trees. It was midday by now and both of them were getting hungry. Heather surprised Naya yet again with having packed a blanket and some sandwiches in her backpack. They found a secluded spot underneath a big, shady tree on the hillside and decided to relax and have lunch before they continued on with their day.

When they were done with lunch, they lazily lay on the blanket underneath the shade of the tree. Naya was curled up next to Heather who had her arm wrapped around her. The air smelled of sweet gardenias and there was a light breeze of cool air that fluttered through the leaves. Both girls were completely relaxed, content and at ease, like they were floating along in a lazy river.

Naya felt like this was another one of those perfect moments, like their snow globe except it had transformed into springtime. She started spontaneously giggling as a thought entered her mind.

Heather felt Naya's body bubbling with laughter. "You're laughing at yourself again," she adoringly smiled down at her. She loved how Naya could so easily laugh at herself.

Naya shook her head a little and nuzzled her cheek further into Heather's shoulder. "No, it's dorky."

"Oh c'mon. I wanna know." Heather lightly tickled at the side of Naya's stomach. "Tell me."

"It's just this funny song that popped into my head," Naya dismissed.

"Well sing something from it. Maybe I know it."

Naya was hesitant for a moment before she sang a line from the chorus. _"Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me, anyone else but me, anyone else but me."_

It had a cute, old-timey kind of melody, something that little kids would sing, like Ring-Around-the-Rosie. "I don't think I know that one," Heather giggled out.

"It's a really random big band song from the 40s," Naya rolled her eyes. "Like I said...dorky."

Heather gave Naya a light squeeze with her arm. "I like it," she said affectionately as she placed a quick kiss on her forehead.

A tingling warmth shot through Naya's body and she snuggled even closer to Heather as she snaked her arm over Heather's stomach and wrapped her hand around her waist.

A silent and comfortable moment passed with nothing but the sound of the breeze hitting the leaves. Then, the sweet smell of the gardenias from down the hill hit Heather's nose and she got an idea. "Okay, top five favorite smells. Go!"

"Smells?" Naya questioned.

"Yeah," Heather nodded. "It's the strongest sense connected with memory, ya know."

"Hmm, top five smells." Naya wrinkled her nose and rolled over onto her back. Heather removed her arm from around Naya and lay on her side with her elbow propped up and her head resting on her hand. A smile played across her lips as she watched Naya laying on the ground and thinking carefully about her answers. That was another thing Heather loved about Naya. She loved watching her think, especially when she's really intrigued by something.

"Okay, and this is in no particular order."

Heather nodded her head forward slightly, encouraging Naya's answers.

Naya took a relaxing breath before she started. "Homemade Apple Pie. Right when it comes out of the oven."

"Oooh," Heather scrunched her face together. "That's a good one," she enthusiastically responded.

"Suntan Lotion," Naya nervously giggled.

Heather quizzically smirked at her.

"It smells good," she defended. "Especially the coconutty ones."

Heather hummed as she snaked her index finger under the hem of Naya's shirt and lightly traced her finger over her smooth stomach and around her belly button.

Naya contentedly hummed in return and closed her eyes like she was actually smelling her next choice. "Sea Salt. Like when you can smell the ocean before you can see it."

"Mmm, that's a really good one too," the corners of Heather's lips curled upward.

"Gum," Naya smiled softly. "Like the mint kind that you chew all the time."

Heather let out a throaty laugh and smiled warmly. "Of course you would."

A wide smile crossed Naya's face as she tilted her head and let out a little giggle. She continued with her last answer. "Aaand...fireworks," she nodded definitively.

Another adoring smile appeared on Heather's face as she lightly pressed her palm to Naya's stomach and cupped her hand around her waist. She bent down and placed a soft and loving kiss to Naya's lips. There was a small popping noise as their lips detached and both of them smiled affectionately at each other.

"Okay, I have one for you," Naya said as she ghosted her fingers over Heather's. With a light touch they slowly pressed their hands together and lifted them up in the air, mirroring each other. "Your top five favorite non-musical sounds." Naya threaded her fingers through Heather's and clasped their hands together before they came down to rest over Naya's stomach.

"Hmm, that's an interesting one." Heather shifted her eyes upward in thought. She'd never really thought of something like that before, but there were tons of non-musical sounds that filled every day life that most people probably never consider or they were too busy to notice.

Heather leaned backward and rolled over to lay on her back, pulling Naya along so that they switched positions. Now Naya was laying on her side with her arm propped up and her head resting in her hand. Heather could see patches of sunlight through the branches and leaves as she looked up toward the sky from under the tree.

Naya could see the light reflecting in Heather's eyes, which made them sparkle like the bluest of oceans.

"Alright, a baby laughing," Heather started.

Naya let out a bubbly sort of giggle. "That's a really good one."

Heather lazily smiled back as she soothingly ran the pad of her thumb over the skin of Naya's hand. "The fluttering noise a deck of playing cards makes when you shuffle them," she continued.

Naya nodded approvingly.

"Uuumm..." Heather drew it out as she continued thinking. "That cool popping noise you can make with your mouth!" she enthusiastically answered, like she had just thought of it that very second.

Naya shook her head in confusion. "What popping noise?"

"Like this." Heather demonstrated by hooking her index finger into her mouth and pushed it up against the inside of her cheek. She added pressure to her cheek with the tip of her finger, creating tension until her finger popped out of her mouth along with a loud popping noise.

At the sound, Naya let out a bubbly giggle. "Okay, that's a pretty cool sound."

Heather giggled a little bit as well. Then she unclasped their hands and sat up to lay on her side so she was mirroring and facing Naya. "Rain," she spoke just above a whisper, as if she were sharing a secret.

"Rain?" Naya questioned with a confused and soft tone. "But it never rains here."

"I know. I miss it." Heather commented genuinely as she wrinkled her nose. She continued with a fond story, so she could further explain herself. "I went to this sleep away camp in the mountains one summer when I was a kid and it rained constantly. The cabin roofs were made of tin and when it would rain at night I would stay up as long as I could to hear the sound of the rain hitting the roof. It kinda sounds scary at first but after a while it's really pretty."

A soft smile slowly crossed Naya's lips as she listened intently.

"Sometimes," Heather continued, "I'd sneak out to the back porch of the cabin and it'd be really dark out but I would just listen to the rain hitting the roof and the wood on the porch and the dirt on the ground and the leaves I couldn't see. It's like a symphony."

Naya could feel a flicker of warmth in her heart at the way Heather spoke with such endearing honesty. She had shared a simple memory, a moment in time that had an affect on her and became a part of her, but somehow, the way she spoke about something she loved, it was like Naya could hear her heart in her voice, and it was only meant for Naya to hear.

"That sounds really nice," Naya spoke with enchanted captivation. She didn't know what to say. Words would be immeasurable in comparison to how Heather made her feel by telling her of that memory, so she responded very simply but with sincerity.

"I love listening to the rain," Heather concluded. "It's one of the most beautiful sounds."

There was a small moment of silence with nothing but the sound of the breeze washing over the leaves above.

When Heather didn't continue with any more answers Naya lightly poked at her stomach. "That's four. You need one more."

Heather's eyes nervously shuddered up and down. "Well, um…" her voice was unsteady. "I don't know if it counts because technically it can be used as an instrument."

On the blanket and in the small space between their bodies was a small leaf. Heather dropped her hand from her head and began fidgeting with the leaf between her fingers.

Naya placed her hand over Heather's and the leaf, causing Heather to look up at her. Naya nodded her head forward a little. "It's okay. You can tell me."

Heather averted her eyes downward for a second and took a calming breath before looking back up to Naya, their eyes connecting with heartfelt sincerity. Heather spoke with the same endearing honesty she had just a moment ago. "Your voice."

In a split second, Naya's face softened with profound tenderness, her eyes glistening and enamored with love-sick affection, accompanied by a sweet smile meant only for Heather.

A shaky breath escaped Heather's throat as she averted her eyes downward again. "Wow, I bet that sounds like a really cheesy pick up line or something to you." She nervously gulped.

Naya scooted a little closer to Heather. She brought her hand up to cup Heather's cheek, guiding her face and eyes up so she wouldn't hide them anymore. When their eyes connected Naya spoke in a low and sweet voice. "No, not at all." She gave Heather a tender and loving kiss. "You can always say anything you want to me."

A broad smile crossed Heather's face and she leaned forward, reciprocating the kiss. Naya rolled backward and Heather followed, their lips still connected as Naya lay down on the blanket with Heather smiling with utter happiness as she kissed her.

* * *

The sun was bright orange and low in the sky, near setting, by the time the girls made it out to the beach. Their last geocache was a waterproof container attached to a rope that hung off a post at the end of a long, wooden pier that extended out into the ocean. Naya thought it was the most cleverly hidden geocache they'd found.

They walked along the length of the pier, watching the sunset and marveling at the changing colors in the sky as they joked about the kind of geocaches they'd like to hide for others to find. At the end of the pier, toward a quiet beachside town was a wide boardwalk that stretched alongside the beach. Neither one of them wanted to leave the beautiful oceanside view and they decided to walk up and down the boardwalk. It was a Sunday and most of the shops and cafés were near closing or already closed. People were scarce except for families finishing up their dinners at small neighborhood restaurants or leaving the nearby movie theater.

Just as the lampposts started flickering on for the evening, they came across an ice cream shop. They poked their heads in, asking if the establishment was still open. The store clerk, an older, tired looking but friendly woman with kind eyes, said it was about to close. However, the store clerk also happened to be the owner and cheerfully invited the girls to be her last customers for the evening but they would have to sit at the outside tables on the boardwalk so she could clean and close the inside of the shop.

Since it was much cooler out, now that the sun had completely set, the girls opted for hot chocolate and found a table for two outside the front window of the shop. They sat there sipping their hot chocolate and simply enjoying each other's company, talking about anything and everything.

They hadn't realized how much time had gone by or how deserted the boardwalk had become until the store clerk came out to their table an hour later. She apologized for the rush but she had to clean up the outside tables now. The girls were shocked at how an hour had seemed like fifteen minutes. They decided to leave, so as not to prolong this nice woman from getting home to her family.

Naya picked up their empty cups to throw out in a nearby wastebasket while the store clerk began wiping down the table. There was something on the ground about fifteen feet in front of the table that caught Heather's eye and she curiously walked over to it. She stood directly over and looking down at a circle on the ground. It had a small spout sticking up from the center of it. Her eyes drifted forward and she suddenly noticed dozens of these little circles with spouts on the ground. They were organized in a grid-like pattern in the form of a large 12x12 square that extended to both sides of where she was standing and out in front of her toward the railing of the boardwalk that faced the ocean.

Naya walked up beside Heather, also curiously looking at the square patch of circles on the ground in front of them. "Whatcha lookin' at?"

Heather turned around and addressed the store clerk. "Excuse me but, do you know what all the circles on the ground are for?"

"Oh, it's a water fountain display," the store clerk answered as she stacked the chairs upside down on the table, a rag hanging over her shoulder. "When it's on, water shoots up from the ground in different patterns."

A delighted smile crossed Heather's face.

"It's still a little cold out," the store clerk continued. "But we usually have it on during the summer months."

"Awh man," Heather cast her eyes downward and her shoulders sunk in disappointment. "That would've been really cool to see."

"We can come back in the summer," Naya gently placed her hand on Heather's back between her shoulder blades, her fingertips ghosting over the ends of her long blonde hair.

The store clerk was about to say something but Heather spoke first. "Thanks though," she regarded the clerk. "For letting us stay out here, even though you were supposed to be closed."

The store clerk decided not to voice her previous thought and instead gave the girls a whimsical smile. "You're welcome. Enjoy the boardwalk. It's quite nice at night."

"Thank you," Naya nodded.

The store clerk nodded back, that whimsical smile still on her face, and went back into the store.

The girls turned around and began walking across the boardwalk toward the sound of the waves washing up on the shore. Heather was still wonderfully intrigued by the water display circles on the ground and she started leaping from one circle to another across the width of the boardwalk.

Heather leapt from circle to circle, pretending as if there was a river of water between each of them. Naya simply watched in wonderment at Heather's ability to so readily enter a world of playful, child-like imagination. And her movements as she leapt were so poised and graceful, without even trying.

Heather reached the railing on the other side and stared off into the dark night sky in front of her. There was no moon out so she couldn't see much more than a few feet of the beach but she could hear the waves crashing on the shore and she could smell the sea salt from the ocean.

When Naya approached the railing, she stood next to Heather, clasping their hands together and she leaned her head onto Heather's shoulder as she stared off into the ocean.

Heather rested her head above Naya's. "You're right. It's really cool being able to smell the salt without seeing the ocean."

A soft smile crossed Naya's lips once again. "I can't decide which part of the day was my favorite. I liked all of it."

Heather undid her hand from Naya's and swept her arm around her while stepping behind her. She wrapped both arms around Naya's waist, placed her chin on her shoulder and began swaying both of them from side to side as she softly sang in Naya's ear. "Don't sit under the apple tree with anyone else but me, anyone else but me, anyone else but me."

Naya began laughing. "Of all the things we did today, that's what you remember most."

Heather placed a soft kiss on Naya's cheek. "I liked everything about today."

Just then, the girls suddenly heard a fast and forceful spraying noise from behind them. They jumped at the sound and turned around.

A huge, open-mouthed grin appeared on Heather's face at the sight of where the sound had come from. The water fountain display had been turned on and various columns of water shot up in the air from their spouts on the ground.

"Awesome!" Heather excitedly jumped up on the balls of her feet.

The columns of water suddenly stopped and the corresponding spouts shot water up into the air.

Heather jumped up again and ran forward into the water fountain display, flinging her arms out to splash the water as she ran through it.

"Oh my god," Naya craned her head back in laughter at Heather's burst of playful excitement.

"Naya, c'mon!" Heather called out from the center of the square.

Naya shook her head. "No way."

"Oh c'mon," Heather beckoned as she moved closer to the edge of the square where Naya was standing.

Naya shook her head again but she had a smile on her face. She couldn't help but be affected by Heather's bright and carefree demeanor.

A column of water shot up beside Heather and she reached her hand out to splash some towards Naya's feet.

Though Heather didn't mean to, some of the water hit Naya's shoes and the fabric of her pants around her ankles. Her face turned to shock, her mouth agape, as the water hit her. "Oh you're _so_ gonna get it now," she jested and went running into the water display, chasing after Heather.

With quick and agile steps Heather went running further into the fountain display, dodging the columns of water shooting up in the air, although she didn't really care that her clothes were already half wet. Naya chased after her, also trying to dodge the water columns trying not to get wet but it was virtually impossible. Naya was close behind Heather but as another pattern of water columns shot through the air Heather reached her hand out and splashed a good amount of water at Naya's midsection.

"Ah!" Naya called out with laughter. Some of the water had splashed onto her face and she stood still for a moment wiping the water and wet hair from her eyes.

Heather ran up behind her and captured her in a bear hug around the waist. She kissed her quick on the cheek. "Tag, you're it!" she announced and ran the other direction, dodging the water as she did so.

Giggling and with a helplessly big smile on her face, Naya ran after her. Even though Naya was reluctant before, she couldn't help but feel the infectious quality of carefree fun that emanated from Heather. It was a game now and Naya was more than happy to play. She chased after Heather, continuously trying to splash her but Heather was too fast and had in fact splashed Naya three more times.

Finally when Naya was able to anticipate Heather's moves she jumped out in front of her and, through sheer luck, a column of water shot up in the air directly beside her. She reached her hand out, cutting off the path of the water and directing it toward Heather for a second, splashing a huge gust of water towards her.

"Aah!" Heather shrieked as the water hit her face and every other part of her body. She had stopped dead in her tracks as she stood in the center of the square, laughing with her whole body and wiping the water from her face.

Naya quickly ran up to her and began brushing the wet hair out of her face as both of them continued helplessly giggling.

When the water was finally out of her eyes, Heather let out a small laugh and lightheartedly smiled. "I guess _I'm_ it now."

Naya gently brushed the last loose strand of wet, blonde hair behind Heather's ear. "You'll always be it for me."

Naya threaded her arms around Heather's shoulders and neck, and Heather cupped her hands around Naya's hips and nuzzled her nose to Naya's. They shared a long and loving kiss as they stood in the center of the square amidst the columns of water shooting up all around them.

* * *

Heather pushed against Naya's hips, practically slamming both of their bodies against the back door of her house as she insatiably captured Naya's lips with hers. Naya was dragging her fingers up Heather's neck as she darted her tongue out to glide over Heather's. Both of them were still wearing their wet clothes, now slightly damp, and their hair was still wet but neither one of them cared. There was only one thing on both of their minds at the moment.

Heather fumbled to get her house key in the lock while still pinning Naya against the door, not wanting to detach from her for even a second. After a moment she was finally able to unlock the door. They stumbled through the threshold of the doorway and into the dark house, never breaking their hold on each other. Heather knew no one would be home. Reid was out of town and Ashley usually spent her Sunday nights at Brad's place. They had the whole house to themselves.

Heather guided Naya through the kitchen and into the living room as they continued their feverish thirst for each other. Just before they made it to the couch, Naya whipped both of them around and pushed Heather down into the couch, falling on top of her, their lips crashing together once again. Naya tangled her hand in Heather's hair as she sucked on her lip and Heather ran her hands up the inside of Naya's shirt, scratching up the sides of her waist.

Heather's hands drifted down to grab hold of Naya's ass. She pressed forward and sat up with Naya straddling her. She began sucking on Naya's bottom lip, pulling her center as close and tight as possible. She could feel the heat between Naya's legs and slowly teased her bottom lip out. A high pitched and drawn out moan escaped Naya's voice, like she was begging for Heather to do more.

Naya's shirt was sticking to her body but Heather swiftly pulled it off and tossed it on the floor beside the couch. She then reached up Naya's back and unclasped her bra. She moved the straps of her bra down her shoulders and arms, pulling it completely off and tossing it on the floor next to the shirt.

Heather started voraciously kissing down Naya's neck and to her chest. Naya rocked her hips forward and into Heather, tangling her hand in her blonde hair and cradling her head closer. Naya's breath was quickly becoming sporadic as Heather continued harder and faster, enveloping every bit of Naya that she could, and fervently using her tongue.

Suddenly, the lights of the living room burst on, shining brightly throughout the whole space. Heather immediately stopped, disoriented as to what was happening. She quickly brought her head up and looked over Naya's shoulder. Her eyes went wide as she saw Ashley standing in the doorway of the open front door, her mouth agape in shock and her hand still on the doorknob.

Naya whipped her head around to see the same sight and frantically scrambled off of Heather. She fell to the floor beside the couch, quickly grabbed her damp shirt and bra, and desperately ducked behind the couch. Heather quickly sat up, distressed and stammering to find some sort of explanation to give to Ashley, but she couldn't find any words and she swallowed a huge gulp of air instead. The whole room felt like it was in a tailspin. Everyone was caught off guard and there was no way to hide.

Naya was still fumbling to get her damp and sticky shirt on, but she nervously poked her head up from behind the couch and anxiously looked back and forth between Heather and Ashley.

Overwhelmed with shock at the turn of events, Heather sat in stunned silence as the tension and anticipation filled the room to a critical mass.

With a quick flick of her hand, Ashley shut the door behind her and simply stared, wide eyed and stunned at the very clear scene in front of her. She blinked a few times, and after another painfully long moment of silence, her voice finally burst out to fill the void. "I knew it! I fucking knew it!"

* * *

**A/N:** I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. I want to give a huge thanks and shout out to my beta, TheKittyPaw. She is outstandingly and delightfully awesome. Check out her stuff. She rocks!

Also, thank you for the reviews from the last chapter. If you enjoyed this one be sure to leave your thoughts and feelings on it. Reviews always appreciated


	14. Words Cannot Explain

Song for this chapter – _Look After You by The Fray_

watch?v=Vl7spqkXgpY

The song is meant to soundtrack everything from " 'I've never been more sure of anything in my life,'" all the way to the end of the chapter.

**Warning:** This chapter is rated M for adult content.

**Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Chapter 14: Words Cannot Explain**

The air in the room was so stiff, it was staggering. After her outburst, Ashley remained quiet for a few seconds before disappearing to the kitchen with her eyes to the floor, like she was embarrassed for having intruded and trying to give them a modicum of privacy after what just happened. Naya was still behind the couch and struggling to get her wet shirt back on.

Heather stood up from the couch now but that was about the extent of what she could accomplish at the moment. Her nerves were going haywire. She just stood there with her mouth open like a fish trying to breath after getting yanked out of water. Her whole body felt constricted. It wasn't until Naya placed a comforting hand on her shoulder that she flinched and then finally took a much needed deep breath. She started blinking her eyes rapidly and brought her attention to Naya, fixing her into the reality of the situation.

It appeared that Naya was so flustered that she ended up putting her shirt on inside out and backward, while her face was red-hot and flush with embarrassment. But her eyes were alert and concerned, darting back and forth over Heather's face. "Are you okay?" she asked quietly.

Heather just hung her mouth open, trying to speak, but nothing came out. Her voice was still caught in her chest. So she vehemently shook her head 'no' and then 'yes.' She couldn't decide how she felt, other than that her skin felt like it was on fire and oddly clammy at the same time.

"Do you want me to stay?"

Heather shook her head yes.

"While you talk to Ash?" Naya added on to her question.

Heather gulped hard. "I…," she shook her head 'no.'

Naya soothingly cupped Heather's face. "You're gonna have to talk to her at some point."

Heather was on the verge of hyperventilating. "Don't wanna," she squeaked out.

"You're her best friend. _You_ have to talk to her."

Heather gulped hard once again. It felt like she was swallowing a baseball.

Speaking slowly and deliberately, Naya asked once more, "Do you want me to stay?"

Heather wanted to say 'yes' right away but she hesitated. She knew that the conversation was inevitable, and she knew it was a conversation that her and Ashley had to have alone. She took a deep breath to calm herself. "No," she breathed out as she began to anxiously rub her palms on the sides of her legs. "I'll talk to her," her voice was unsteady.

"You're sure?"

Still breathing deeply, Heather nodded 'yes.' She was sure. She was scared shitless but she was sure.

Naya took a moment to look at Heather. She knew Heather was anxious and terrified out of her mind. She would do anything to take that fear away but Heather and Ashley had their own unique friendship dynamic. She knew this was something Heather would have to do on her own. "Okay," she spoke quietly. "I'll leave you two to talk alone then."

As Naya leaned in to give Heather a light but reassuring kiss, Heather intertwined her fingers with Naya's, squeezing it tightly. Naya started pulling away, letting their fingers start to slip apart. Heather held on as long as she could, until their arms were fully extended, but at the last second she pulled Naya back, engulfing her in a tight hug.

"It's okay," Naya stroked Heather's hair as she spoke softly. "Just talk to her." She cupped her hands around Heather's face again, looking into her blue eyes with nothing but reassurance. "Everything's going to be fine. I promise."

Heather lightly nodded her head again, this time with a little more confidence.

"Call me later if you want, even if it's three in the morning. I'll answer."

Naya gave her another short kiss and gave her hands a light squeeze before turning to the door. A shudder ran through her body as she opened the door to leave. Hiding was starting to become much more complicated. She _hoped_ everything was going to be fine.

Heather stayed in the living room until Naya left. Then she paced back and forth a bit as she anxiously wrung her hands together, trying to think of what she was going to say to Ashley. It was awkward and startling and the last thing she expected to confront tonight. When she bucked up enough courage she finally took one last deep and calming breath before walking into the kitchen.

Ashley was sitting on a stool at the kitchen counter, absentmindedly flipping through a magazine and there was a kettle on the stove, boiling water. As Heather walked in, Ashley's eyes shot up and connected with Heather's in a brief, awkward moment before her eyes flickered to the kettle and then back down to her magazine.

Standing frozen at the edge of the room, Heather's mouth hung open as she pressed the palms of her hands together. She wanted to say something but had no clue what to say. She didn't know how or where to start. After a moment, she let out a breath she had been holding in anticipation and said the first and most lightheartedly obvious thing that came to mind. "Making tea?" she pointed toward the stove.

Glancing up from her magazine, Ashley simply nodded.

Filled with nervous energy, Heather began moving around the kitchen pulling out two mugs, a box of tea packets and some honey from the upper cabinets and placing them on the counter. All the while, Ashley and Heather exchanged awkward glances and nervous shifting, trying to avoid any direct confrontation about what had just happened in the other room. Everything just felt wound up, like a ticking time bomb. Both of them were doing everything to avoid the conversation that would inevitably happen.

When Heather was at a loss to find anything else that would keep her hands busy she leaned against the kitchen counter, tapping her foot as she waited for the water on the stove to boil. After looking everywhere else in the room, she finally turned her eyes over to Ashley again. Feeling Heather's eyes on her, Ashley slowly lifted her head. For a moment, the two girls just awkwardly stared at each other.

Just as the kettle on the stove started to whistle with steam, all that bottled up, nervous energy inside of Heather, burst out. "Oh, for Christ's sake Ashley, say something! Anything! Just say something!" She threw her arms up in the air as she yelled, then got distracted by the whistling noise and picked up the kettle only to forcibly slam it back down on a cold burner.

Ashley threw her hands up in response. "What am I supposed to do? Get you a card? 'Sorry about the cockblock. Get a room next time?'"

Still embarrassed and now frustrated, Heather pressed her palms into her forehead and scrunched her face. She then slouched against the counter and let her whole body collapse, sliding downward against the cabinets to sit on the floor with her head in her hands.

Ashley looked off to the side with a curious thought. "Is it a cockblock or a twat-swat in this case?"

Heather dropped her hands and brought her head up to look at Ashley. She was not at all amused by Ashley's curiosity on semantics.

Throwing her hands up in front of her, Ashley got defensive. "Sorry, just trying to make a joke. Ya know, lighten things up a bit."

" You're not upset? Mad? Confused as hell? Anything?"

Ashley's face softened. She walked away from her stool at the counter and sat down on the floor next to Heather. "No. Why would I be mad or upset?"

"I…" Like so many times in the past fifteen minutes alone, Heather was once again at a loss for words. She tried to think of all the reasons she had built up in her head. All the reasons why it seemed important to hide how she felt about Naya, what she was doing with Naya. She tried to think of a truly legitimate reason why Ashley, one of her best friends, would be mad or upset or freak out about it. She couldn't think of a single one.

After a few seconds of silence, Ashley simply shrugged. "I mean I didn't wanna find out by walking in on you two goin at it, but I'm not exactly surprised."

Heather snapped her eyes shut and her head jolted a bit as she shook it, remembering what Ashley had said earlier. "You already knew."

"Well not exactly. I knew something was up with you two. I just didn't know to what extent."

Placing her head in her hands, Heather bowed her head down between her knees and started chuckling as the built up tension started manifesting itself in the form of laughter. All of that bottled up anxiety was slowly escaping her body until it finally deflated with a relieved sigh. She was finally able to relax and rested her head back against the wood of the cabinet, as Ashley sat next to her, patient and understanding enough to give her a moment and just let her be.

A thought crossed Heather's mind and she suddenly popped her head up. "Wait, how?"

"How what?"

"How'd you know?"

"Oh, c'mon. It's obvious. You're hanging out with her and sleeping over at her house non-stop. You have that goofy ass smile whenever you talk about her, and you get all giddy whenever you're texting her. You're like Bugs Bunny in a Valentine's Day Special. It's disgustingly cute."

A faint smile started forming at the corners of Heather's mouth. It was actually quite an accurate description of how she had been behaving as of late. "I guess I didn't do a very good job of hiding it."

"C'mon," Ashley tilted her head to the side, as if to say 'really?' "I mean, don't get me wrong. You're a first rate ninja, but did you really think you were gonna be able to hide something like that from me? It's written all over your face."

Heather's smile started to grow wider.

"Wah!" Ashley made a karate chop motion with her arm and put on a fake Japanese accent. "And student still does not surpass the master" She pressed her hands together like she was praying and reverently bowed her head down. "You have much to learn young grasshopper."

Heather started bubbling with laughter at her friend's antics. "So it's not a big deal?"

"No. I mean, Naya's cool. You both like each other, obviously way more than just friends. So why the hell not? Far be it from me to pass judgment on how you feel about someone."

Heather was becoming visibly more relieved with each passing moment of this conversation that she was dreading just minutes ago.

"Look," Ashley continued, regaining a tone of sincerity and thoughtfulness. "I didn't want to find out this way. I would've rather you just told me on your own. I was actually kinda waiting for it. But at least it's out in the open now so you don't have to sneak around me anymore."

"So you're cool with it?" Heather said it as more of a statement than a question.

"Yeah."

"And all that stuff yesterday, about you being pissed at me. You were just trying to get me to tell you without asking?"

"No, that was legit," Ashley purposefully corrected. "I was actually mad at you for shoving me off to the side so you can make googly faces at your phone and make out with Naya, but...I get it." Her face softened in complete understanding of the type of feelings she guessed Heather was having lately. "Really, I do. When you like someone like that, they're all you can think about."

Heather remained silent, still taking everything in.

"I just wish you would've said something to me though, instead of feeling like you had to hide. I mean, I don't need to know the dirty details but it would've been nice for you to share why you're suddenly so happy 24/7, ya know? Friends do that. I would've been happy to hear about it."

A smile broadened across Heather's face. She really was a lot happier lately. Ashley was right about that.

"But look, that's not my call," Ashley conceded. "I just figured I'd try to give you a nudge and maybe you'd tell me. Obviously, that backfired."

Heather sighed with a breath that now made her fully relax. "Sorry, I kept you in the dark. I guess, I just didn't know how you'd react."

"You kiddin? As long as you're happy and she doesn't treat you like shit, which I know she doesn't, I'm cool with it."

A sentimental sort of smile appeared on Heather's face. "You're awesome, you know that?" She leaned over and wrapped her arm around Ashley with an appreciative hug.

"Pssh. I invented the word. Of course I know I'm awesome," Ashley joked with a smile.

"It actually feels really good that you know now," Heather shared as she pulled her arm back. "I mean it wasn't the best way to find out, but I'm glad I can talk to you without feeling paranoid now."

"Oh, c'mon. I'm still your best friend," Ashley nudged her arm with her fist. "It's not like I'm gonna ditch you, especially over something like that. You have a right to feel however you want about whoever you want."

"I guess I just didn't think anyone would understand, and then trying to explain myself, it's just hard to..." Heather was struggling to find the right words to express herself and started rubbing her knuckles on her forehead and running her hand through her hair. "…like, define or describe a feeling, or put words to it, or just like, just say it. Like I don't know how to just say it."

Nonchalant and unfazed, Ashley rattled off her response. "What, it's easy. You and Naya are gettin it on. Boning. Doing the 'Horizontal Tango.' Trust me, I can come up with a lot of euphemisms for it."

"Actually, we haven't slept together yet," Heather said plainly as she looked at Ashley quite seriously. "Ya know, not like..." there was an awkward moment and Heather nervously smiled before her next words. "Not like full-on slept together or anything."

Ashley's eyes went wide. "Oh so I like mega-cockblocked you just now."

Heather nodded her head up and down and started chuckling a little.

"Sorry about that," Ashley awkwardly but sincerely offered.

Heather kept chuckling. She was still getting used to it but this was nice, having this feeling like she didn't have to hide anymore.

"Okay well, that aside," Ashley continued in earnest encouragement. "You have a right to feel however you feel and you don't have to explain it. You don't have to explain your feelings to anyone but yourself...and probably Naya."

There was a tender and warm smile that effortlessly appeared across Heather's lips. "Thanks," she spoke softly, grateful to have a friend like Ashley.

"No prob," Ashley returned the smile as she nudged her shoulder against Heather's.

After a moment, Heather rested her head in her hands once again, but in a state of both confusion and comfort. Now that she felt free to express herself openly, she didn't know what to do with it. She had so much to say but didn't know how or where to start. She let her impulses take over and let the awe and wonderment of her own feelings speak for her. "Like everything just feels so big and awesome and I've never felt anything like this before."

"About Naya?"

"About anyone!" she jumped up like she couldn't contain herself, and began pacing around the kitchen, speaking enthusiastically and without reservation. "Oh my god, she's incredible! And amazing, and she does this thing when she laughs at herself that just like sends me over the moon! And then today, we were were out geocaching and she did this thing..."

Without thinking, Heather started rattling off everything she had been feeling about Naya. It all came out in bursts of impassioned word vomit, gushing out every little moment, detail, and event. There was no linear logic to it. The information came out like pieces of a puzzle that Ashley had to put together as she listened.

One thing was for sure though. Ashley had never seen Heather talk about someone the way she talked about Naya. Ashley, herself, was even getting giggly at how carefree, downright foolish and deliriously happy Heather was. It was infectious.

Ashley couldn't put her finger on it but there was something quite different about this. She couldn't even put it into words if she tried, but she could see it. There was a glow in Heather's voice. There was light in her eyes, just at the mere thought of Naya. And then there was the smile on Heather's face. She'd never seen her smile like that before, about anyone. However, Ashley didn't say anything about it. She just listened as Heather openly gushed, her feelings barreling out of her like a flood. Yes, Ashley could see quite clearly that Heather was undeniably falling in love with Naya.

* * *

Rubbing at the back of her neck, Heather let out a deep and contented sigh. She took a moment to rest her eyes from the script she'd been reading and enjoy some of the cool air wafting through Naya's house. Today the weather was overcast with a nice and steady breeze; good 'cuddle weather' as Naya would characterize it, so they opened most of the windows in the house. Normally Heather would jump at the chance to spend a whole day cuddling up on the couch with Naya and watching a marathon of movies or re-runs, but for the past week Heather had procrastinated on reading and editing a few of Ashley's scripts. Not only did she feel bad for putting it off for so long, but considering how last night's conversation went, she didn't want to procrastinate on it any longer. Naya also wanted to work on some of her music, so the girls opted to work in the morning and then they could cuddle and watch all the re-runs they wanted in the afternoon.

Somehow everything about this morning felt incredibly domestic. They had their morning coffee and breakfast together and now Heather was on the couch going through scripts while Naya was just a few feet away in the back room, sitting at the piano and working on a song. They were both consumed in their own separate work but they deliberately left the door from the back room to the living room wide open. They could still see each other, talk to each other and hear everything the other was doing. Though they were working, it was as if both of them felt more comfortable sharing the same general workspace knowing that they could stop at any moment just to glance back at each other.

Heather craned her head back and to the side. Over her shoulder and behind the couch she could see through the open door and straight into the back room. Naya was sitting at her piano, going over some music for a song she was slowly working on over the past few weeks. She had a pencil resting on her ear and her eyes were narrowed towards a piece of sheet music on the piano stand. It had a few notes and chords written on it, her lyric journal propped open next to it. She grabbed the pencil from her ear and hastily wrote another note on the sheet music and returned her hands to the keys. She played a couple of chords and then shook her head in frustration.

A concerned frown crossed Heather's lips and she returned her eyes to the script in her hands.

All morning Heather had heard Naya playing the same general melody. It was very recognizable to her because it was the same few notes Naya had hummed when they were up on Mulholland Drive just a few weeks ago, except the melody had grown a bit. Now Naya was playing various chords, trying to find the right ones to complement the melody. Heather could tell Naya was getting frustrated with it, because she would play two chords of a progression and then change the third and fourth ones, stop and then start again. The third and fourth chords would always vary slightly, like she was trying to find the exact right ones but nothing sounded perfect enough. She'd hum the melody over the chords or just play the melody alone but vary the last note, playing half a step or a whole step up or down the scale. She was severely editing herself and being a perfectionist with it.

Suddenly the music stopped. After a long moment, a loud and disturbing cluster of false notes rang out from the back room and violently pierced the silence in the air. It made Heather flinch and jump in her seat. Heather looked over her shoulder to see Naya hunched over the keys, her whole arm nudged up against the keys and head resting against the sheet music on the stand.

"Ugh!" Naya let out an agitated grunt.

Heather worried her lip. "What's wrong?"

"It's not coming out the way it sounds in my head," Naya said through gritted teeth.

Furrowing her brow, Heather tried to put Naya at ease. "Maybe it's just not ready yet."

After a moment Naya let out a deep breath as she brought her head upright again, like she was determined to press forward with the song. She returned her hands to the keys and played two chords, then a third one. The second the notes of the third chord sounded out of the piano, Naya scrunched her face and balled her hand up in a fist.

"Damnit!," she grumbled, slamming her fist down on the keys. Another awful combination of false notes echoed out of the room.

"You're forcing it."

"I can hear it in my head," Naya whined. "And it sounds amazing and perfect but when I go to put it down on paper it doesn't sound the same. Nothing sounds right."

"Ya know what always helps me when I get frustrated trying to come up with something, like when I'm writing or dancing?"

"What?"

"Just walk away from it. You're concentrating too hard on forcing it out of you. Clear your head, don't think about it, and just let it come to you when it's ready."

Naya stared, weary and fatigued, toward the sheet music. After a moment, she stood up from the piano bench, closed her lyric journal and gathered her sheet music in a pile, setting it down on top of the piano. She shuffled out to the living room and over to the couch, crawling up next to Heather and laying her head in Heather's lap.

Heather pressed her lips together in a small, empathetic sort of smile.

"How do you always say exactly what I need to hear, exactly when I need to hear it?"

"Dunno," Heather's voice was comforting as she stroked Naya's hair. "I'm glad you listen though."

Shutting her eyes for a moment, Naya wrapped her arms around Heather's leg like she was hugging a teddy bear close to her chest. Heather continued running her fingers through Naya's hair. Her touch was soothing and lulled the previously frustrated songwriter into a state of comfort.

Heather loved little moments like these. This was the Naya that Heather got all to herself. No expensive dresses or hours of makeup or well practiced smiles from years of glad-handing with professionals. Of course Naya always looked great when she was dressed to the nines and strutting around in her heels, but right now there was no need to impress. She looked simple and relaxed, wearing weathered and worn, old blue jeans, a plain white v-neck shirt with a hoodie, and her hair loose and draped over her shoulder. This was Naya in her most unabashedly comfortable, real and unaltered form. Heather liked this look best on her.

Heather's eyes gazed up and down Naya's body on the couch and back to her head that lay comfortably in her lap. She continued stroking her soft, dark hair, just drinking in the moment. Her mind drifted to how much effort Naya always seemed to be putting into her work. Whether it was something for her acting or something towards the music career she wanted so much. No matter how much was required of her, she never seemed to mind putting in the work for it. In fact, most of the time she was an overachiever about it, always expecting more of herself than anyone else expected of her.

Whenever Heather got stuck with something, it always helped her to think of why she was doing it in the first place. So she decided to propose the same idea to Naya. Maybe it would help.

"Can I ask you kind of an odd question?"

"Of course," Naya languidly responded.

"Why do you do what you do?"

Naya lifted her head and sat upright with a confused look on her face.

"I mean why do you love music?" Heather clarified. "Why do you write songs and sing, or act for that matter? You could do anything in the world but you chose to be an actor and a singer. Why?"

There was no malcontent or judgment in Heather's voice. She was genuinely curious. Naya was silent for a moment, processing what Heather had asked her. It wasn't a question she got a lot, but she knew her answer. "Because nothing satisfies me the way acting and singing does."

Naya's answer hit Heather with a profound sort of nature. She was quiet for a moment as she let it sink in, digesting it so she could understand it the way Naya did.

"With singing and songwriting…" Naya chewed her lip, trying to think of the right way to explain her answer. "Sometimes that's just the best way for me to communicate or understand something. Music has a way of bypassing all the bullshit, ya know? It goes straight for the heart. When you hear three notes on a piano or a certain drumbeat, the second you hear it, it makes you feel something. I mean, you don't have to be a music theorist to know that Moonlight Sonata is a beautiful and moving piece of music. You understand it even if you can't explain the mechanics of it. Kind of like…" she tried searching for the right word, and then it just came to her, uncensored. "…Faith."

Naya wasn't sure if that made any sense. It made sense to her but it could sound like complete insanity to someone else.

"So music, writing songs, singing...it's like faith to you, or how you understand things?" Heather said it as more of a clarifying statement than a question. She wanted to make sure she understood Naya correctly.

"Yeah. I don't know what I'd be without it." Naya's voice was soft but undeniably steady and confident. However, she felt the need to embellish her feelings on the matter. She fumbled a bit with her explanation but her passion and confidence only grew as she spoke. "It's kinda hard to explain but…when you hear Bob Dylan howling over his guitar or Whitney Houston belt out a love song, you believe them because you can hear their heart and soul in their voice. There's no hiding. They're just being honest about a very human experience. Everything you need to know is in that sound. It's in the music."

"So that's how you feel when you sing?"

Naya nodded 'yes.' Then, in a very self-assured manner, she stood from the couch and gradually began pacing as she started using her arms and hands to emphasize the impassioned expression of her speech. "When I'm singing I don't have to restrain anything or cage anything up. I can be completely honest about whatever I feel. I can let everything inside of me out, and just let it be what it is without having to explain it. It's a type of release that I can't find anywhere else."

Shifting in her seat, Heather got a little more comfortable but remained completely alert to how Naya was expressing the love she had for the passions of her life. "Okay, so what about acting?"

"I mean, acting is sorta similar. It's kinda the same thing, just in a different way. It's being honest about what it is to be human. That's why I hate it when people mistake acting for professional lying. When you're doing it right, it's anything but that!"

Naya was getting fired up now. The pace of her body picked up and her voice was grounded. It was as if something was taking over her whole being as she became completely uninhibited, articulately expressing all her thoughts and feelings on the matter.

"No one wants to watch an actor lie on screen," Naya continued. "There's no connection in that. You have to let yourself be affected by this imaginary world you're in, and then react to it in the most genuine way possible. You have to be real and honest about what you're feeling because it's all about human connection. I mean people spend their whole lives building up walls and defense mechanisms to protect themselves from feeling anything, so they can fit into society, but that's not really living to the fullest extent of what's humanly possible. Actors do the exact opposite!"

The strength of Naya's conviction only grew the more she carried on. Her voice carried significant weight, like it could bulldoze the Great Wall of China if need be. She looked strong and bold. If someone magically appeared and denied anything she was saying, the attack would pierce and cut her, straight to her core. But she spoke with such a whole and sincere heart that she could vehemently and boldly defend her passions.

"Actors have to be fearless," she continued. "Fearless and ready to experience the good, the bad, and the ugly of everything life has to offer. They're willing to fall for those imperfections, those things that make us vulnerable, those complexities and subtleties of character. Actors want to experience every part of what it is to be human, and then communicate it. It's so much more than memorizing lines and saying them back and forth. It's about the subtext, what's happening underneath the lines. And I mean if you're really listening, not just with your ears but with all your senses, everything you could possibly use to connect with someone and feel something, a good actor is able to communicate a lifetime's worth of living in a single moment, sometimes without even saying a word, if they're being honest about it. Acting is just being honest about being human!"

Naya let out a deep and decidedly conclusive breath as she finished her impassioned speech.

Riveted in her seat, Heather was giddy with a proud and goofy grin on her face. Her eyes were full of light as she watched, fascinated and transfixed by the amount of respect and passion Naya had for her chosen life's work.

Coming out of her reverie and calming down from her rant, Naya looked over to Heather and her brow twitched upward in confusion. "What?"

"Nothing, just…" Heather was hesitant but still consumed with the high of watching Naya be so passionate about something. Her voice was soft and her eyes sincere. "I like this, seeing you like this, all fired up. You're...incredible."

A smile grew on Naya's face. She was a bit shy about the compliment but proud to take it nonetheless. Her eyes, as well as her voice, softened from her previous vigor. "I love all that stuff. It's like breathing to me.

"Breathing?"

"Yeah. You have to breathe to live, right?" Naya shrugged. "And you do it without thinking. You do it because you have to. You can't be without it. Music, singing, acting…I couldn't stay away from those things if I tried. They're parts of my life that I can't be without…like breathing."

Heather let out a little giggle and nodded her head. "Like breathing," she affirmed.

Naya looked down at her feet as she nervously shuffled them, but the smile on her face grew even wider. In that moment, she somehow felt a bit raw, like she'd just let out a deeply embedded secret, but she also felt happy and euphoric in sharing it with Heather.

Still gazing up at Naya, Heather remained captivated and enamored with Naya's passionate existence. She was enamored with the feeling that Naya was bold enough to allow something to affect her to the point that she loved it. But it wasn't only the fact that she cared so vigorously for her passions. Heather was also captivated by the fact that Naya was bold enough to express her need to feel, connect, and communicate in a creative form. It caused Heather to swell with pride and warmth and even more respect for this incredible woman standing before her.

* * *

Sitting at her breakfast table, Naya stared anxiously at her phone as she twirled it around and around in her hand. She only had maybe half an hour to make this phone call. Heather would be back soon. She left about fifteen minutes ago to go drop off the edited scripts at home and on the way back she was going to pick up some Chinese take-out. Naya decided to take that brief time to herself to make this phone call that she'd been wanting to make for the past two days.

_It's not too weird, right? Or too soon? ...What am I saying? They've met Heather before, several times. They think she's like the best thing since sliced bread. Of course it'll be okay to invite her._

Naya let out a sigh.

_Then why am I so nervous to ask?_

She knew why. Things were different between her and Heather now. Asking if she could invite Heather to a family event had a different meaning now, even if she wasn't going to tell her family the new nature of their relationship and even if her family already liked Heather. There was more at stake now. So naturally, Naya became cautious about asking if Heather could join in on a long time family tradition.

Every year, the Riveras, some of the extended family, and some close family friends would get together for what was dubbed 'The Roast.' It was a family reunion tradition of sorts, that stemmed from the Puerto Rican roots of her dad's side of the family. It was usually the last weekend of Spring Break, extended family would stay at the Rivera house, and on the Saturday of the weekend Naya's dad and uncles would roast a pig. The house would be full of people with lots of food and music. It was basically a full out family barbeque, and this year Naya wanted to include Heather in the festivities.

Asking Heather to join her family for a weekend was going to be nerve-wracking. But first Naya had to ask her mom if it was okay to add another person to the already full house.

_This is ridiculous. Stop being so nervous. It'll be fine. Why would they say no? Just ask already._

Naya stopped twirling her phone and dialed her home number in Valencia. She sat back and brought the phone to her ear as it started ringing.

"Hey, sweetie!" her mom answered.

Naya smiled at her mother's welcoming voice. "Hey, mom."

"Whatcha up to today?"

"Nothin' much. Just hanging out, worked on a song earlier. Ya know, same old, same old," Naya shrugged.

"Did you get Mychal's flight information?"

"Yeah, he flies into LAX Friday night, so I'll pick him up and we'll head home from there."

"Good." Naya could tell by her mom's voice that she was in 'run-around' mode. She probably had a million things on her plate today while planning for the weekend. "Your cousins are driving down from San Francisco Friday morning so everyone should be here by the time you two get in. Lots of mouths to feed this weekend."

"Yeah, mom, about that, I-"

"Mom! Have you seen my blue shirt?" Naya cut herself off when she heard her sister's muffled yelling in the background.

"What's Nicki whining about now?" Naya laughed out.

"What your sister always whines about," her mom casually responded.

Naya and her mom affectionately stated the obvious at the same time. "Clothes."

"Hey! I do not," Nickayla responded to the remark that was obviously directed at her.

Naya chuckled. "Do too."

"Your sister says you do," Naya's mom relayed the message to Nickayla.

"Oooh! That's Naya? I wanna talk to her."

Naya could picture her mom handing the phone over while lightheartedly rolling her eyes, probably thanking God that she got two daughters who don't fight nearly as much as sisters are expected to fight.

When Nickayla got on the phone, there was no need for any pleasantries or formality. She just went straight into their normal sibling joking and banter. "Hey, stop making fun of my addiction to clothes."

"So you admit it? That's the first step, ya know."

"Says the reality show addict who refuses to stop watching reality television."

"Hey, I never said it wasn't a guilty pleasure," Naya lightheartedly defended. "I just refuse to quit watching it. Besides, it's good research. How else do you think I get my awesome 'what the fuck' faces?"

Both of them started chuckling because the comment could not be more true. Naya made more 'what the fuck' faces while watching reality television than at any other time.

"Here," Naya heard her mom in the background again. She was probably handing Nickayla whatever she was looking for earlier. "It was in the laundry room."

"Awesome," her sister sounded relieved. "I thought I left it at Jackie's."

_Oh wait! Nik might be inviting Jackie. Okay, so if she can invite a friend then I can invite a 'friend,' right?_

"Hey, is she gonna be there Saturday?" Naya asked, trying to remain casual.

"Yeah, and Sunday too probably, because ya know, mom and dad's rule, if we're drinking."

"Why is that even a question?" Naya jokingly shot back. "You know how much wine our family goes through. No way is Jackie going to be able to drive home."

"Drunk Slumber Party!" Nickayla's voice bounded through the phone.

"For you, maybe," Naya chuckled.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"I bet you a million dollars, by 8 o'clock you and Jackie will be plastered and giggling off in a corner somewhere while I just sit there trying to figure out what your inside jokes are until I get bored and go harass Mychal."

Nickayla was silent for a moment, considering it. "Touché."

Naya laughed because she could picture the little head nod that probably went along with Nickayla's response.

"What's Hemo up to? Why don't you invite her?"

"Uh?" Naya was thrown. She thought she'd have to work up to this somehow. She didn't expect the opportunity to be placed right in front of her.

Nickayla turned away from the phone to ask her mom. "Can Naya invite Hemo for the weekend too?"

_Did Nik just invite Heather for me?_

"Of course, I don't see why not," Naya's mom sounded a bit more cheerful in the background.

"Sweet!" Nickayla's voice rang with excitement through the phone once more. "Drunk Slumber Party! Between the four of us we can get the boys back for last year's 'Lord of the Flies' prank."

"Ew, gross," Naya scrunched her face in disgust. "Don't remind me."

"Okay. Gotta go." Nickayla sounded excited and in a hurry to be somewhere. "See ya Friday. Love ya, sis."

"Love you too." And just like that her sister was off the phone as fast she got on the phone, and somehow managed to invite Heather in that short expanse of time. Naya smiled at how unknowingly crafty her sister could be sometimes.

"Please no messy pranks this year." Naya's mom was on the phone again.

Naya got playfully defensive. "Hey, that was all Mychal and the boys. I had nothing to do with it."

"Well I'll have to give your brother and your cousins some ground rules this year."

Naya lightly chuckled. _Mychal's gonna hate mom setting ground rules for him._

"So you're going to invite Heather?"

Naya was caught off guard again. How was it that Naya always got nervous about things but Nickayla and her mom could bring up any topic at the drop of a hat? Why didn't she get that gene?

"Um, yeah," Naya was tentative. "Is that okay? I mean is there enough room? I know you have a full house this weekend, and tricky sleeping arrangements and stuff."

"Oh it'll be fine. We added a pull out sofa to the office so it's not cramped this year. Your aunts and uncles can stay in there and the downstairs guest room. Mychal and the boys will be out in the living room as usual. The little ones can take Mykel's room. Jackie can stay in Nickayla's and Heather can stay in your room."

Naya's mom sounded so casual about it, like it was no big thing. Naya's nervousness and tension was all for nought, and it released from her body in the form of some light chuckling. "Wow, you have this weekend down to an art form now."

"Years of practice sweetie. Wait until you have your own family. You'll know what I mean."

"Okay, so it's cool then? For me to invite Heather?" Out of habit Naya had to make sure, one last time.

"Yeah, of course. It'll be nice having her around. I haven't seen her in a while."

Just then, Naya caught the bright flash of headlights that shone through the kitchen window. Heather had just pulled into the driveway followed by that familiar sound of her janky car door having to be slammed shut twice.

"K, mom. Gotta go. I'll see ya this weekend," Naya sounded delightfully cheery.

"Okay honey. Call me when you and Heather pick up Mychal from the airport."

"Will do. Love ya, mom."

"Love you too, sweetie."

Naya ended the call just as Heather walked through the front door using the spare key from the planter outside.

"Man, just a little bit of drizzle and all of a sudden everyone in this town doesn't know how to drive," Heather commented on the traffic as she set the spare key on the coffee table. She conclusively sighed and then triumphantly held up the full bag of Chinese food in her hand with a big grin on her face. "But I scored some extra duck sauce!" she delightfully countered her own previously dejected comment.

Naya chuckled a bit as she got up from the table, a content smile spread across her lips. But her mind was still on the conversation she'd just ended. Her mom was cool with it, now all she had to do was find the right moment to invite Heather and hope that it wouldn't be an awkward invitation or something she might feel uncomfortable about in this stage of their relationship. She really wanted the family weekend to go well. So far it was smooth sailing, but ever the worrier, Naya's doubts were still present. She hoped that Heather wouldn't consider it too much to attend a family event, that none of the family drama would rear it's ugly head, that the people she cared for most in the world could all be in one place and just have a good time together.

* * *

As per usual, the girls spent a quiet night in, snuggled up on the couch and watching TV. They provided endless witty commentary for each other on two 'Real Housewives' episodes and the last half of Back to the Future until they both got sleepy and headed off to bed.

Sometime in the middle of the night, there was an endless and consistent 'whooshing' type of sound that began pre-occupying Heather's ears. It sounded like she was sitting inside a waterfall or next to a rushing river. It was sort of muffled, but incredibly soothing. She felt like it was all around her, wrapping her up in a safe cocoon, swaying her from side to side like a lullaby. She wasn't alert enough to know if she was actually awake or if the sound was just part of a dream. She still had her eyes closed. They felt heavy. But the sound was too calming for her to care if she was awake or not. She just wanted to keep hearing it.

Rolling over on her side, Heather sniffled and scrunched the blanket further up her chest. There was a soft flurry of cool air that hit her skin and nose. It smelled like fresh cut grass, earthy and floral. In a haze she slowly blinked her eyes open. It was dark and yet there was enough dim light for Heather to see that it was raining outside. She could see a vague outline of someone standing by the window. It was Naya. She had the window open as she stood there seemingly watching the rain as it fell outside.

Curious and still half asleep, Heather lazily pulled the blanket off and got out of bed, rubbing her eyes as she shuffled toward the window. She stood there next to Naya for a moment, looking out at the rain, then turned toward her, about to say something, but she suddenly and pleasantly stopped.

It was the most tranquil Heather had ever seen her. Naya had her eyes closed, her head tilted down slightly, and her arms were crossed over her stomach, like she was hugging herself. She was relaxed and at ease, and yet very grounded and centered as she steadily breathed in and out.

Heather's lips curled upward. Naya looked so beautiful in the soft moonlight; no makeup, sweatpants and a plain white shirt, her hair loose and relaxed down her shoulders. She was more beautiful than Heather could ever imagine her to be. If anything, in this moment Heather felt lucky that such an amazing person even existed and that she was standing right in front of her, a part of her life. It was a moment Heather instinctually etched into her memory, to hold forever.

Moving to stand behind her, Heather gently slid her arms around Naya's waist, eventually hugging her arms. She softly placed her chin on Naya's shoulder. Their bodies molded together smoothly, and they stood there in silence for a moment, accompanied by the steady sound of the rain.

"Couldn't sleep?" Heather asked, just above a whisper.

Naya lightly nodded her head. Her eyes remained closed.

Nuzzling her nose against Naya's neck, Heather placed a soft kiss there. "Whatcha doin?"

After a moment, Naya took a deep breath in, her chest swelling out as she filled her lungs. "Listening to the rain," she said with reverence. She tilted her head to the side, ever so slightly, nestling it against Heather's.

Heather had said it was one of her favorite sounds, so when Naya woke up in the middle of the night hearing the muffled downpour outside, she felt compelled to stand closer to it and simply listen. Naya came to regard the experience as something almost sacred. She had of course heard rain before. But she had never actually listened to it. The experience touched her in such a way that she wasn't just listening with her ears, but with her whole heart. The beauty inherent in the sound seemed to fill every part of her as if a soft glow grew to extend beyond her own body.

Heather's arms loosened around her as Naya gracefully turned around, away from the window to face Heather. "You're right," she looked up into those marvelous blue eyes as she rested her arms around Heather's shoulders and neck. "It's beautiful."

In the most subtle and yet distinctly recognizable way, everything changed faster than the blink of an eye. Heather couldn't think, feel, or see anything else but Naya; her warm and glowing presence, her gentle voice, the subtle movements of her body as she breathed, the way she smelled and the touch of her skin, the way she humbly listened to the rain, letting it fuel the light that seemed to flow from her very being. By the slightest tip of a scale Heather began to endlessly fall, descending freely into a state of unknown bliss, without question or condition, without a need for balance or alarm. Everything was beautiful.

She intuitively captured Naya's lips with such a profoundly deep and tender kiss, that Naya trembled as she leaned forward to rest her head against Heather's.

"What is it?" Heather asked, concerned.

"Just..." There was a tremor in Naya's voice and yet her next words had significant weight. "You make me feel so…_alive_. Sometimes, I'm afraid it's all just a dream. Like one day I'll wake up having never met you and I'll have this big empty space inside of me, and I won't know why."

Heather brought her hand up to caress the side of Naya's face with comfort.

A quick shudder trickled through Naya's body as she continued. "I can't imagine what my life would be without you. I want to give you _everything_...and it's terrifying."

Even in the dim light, Heather could see deep into Naya's eyes. She could see the most honest human form of anyone she had ever come to know in the short life she had lived thus far, and that too was something beautiful to behold.

Caressing her thumb across Naya's cheek, she spoke assuredly. "I'm not going anywhere. I promise."

As if in slow motion, she leaned into her, sealing their lips together, and her promise along with it. She innately felt a sense that her entire being was suddenly swept open in a gust of compelling urgency to open her heart and separate it from herself so that Naya could make it her own. After a moment, Heather deepened the kiss holding Naya as close as she could.

As if by some unstoppable and ethereal force, Naya surrendered, wholeheartedly and with abandon, to all the passion and fervency with which Heather so earnestly held and kissed her. No one could ever thrill her, make every part of her flutter and hum, no one could ever shake her the way Heather did.

Deep in the core of her body, Heather felt every part of herself pulsing and swirling with an overwhelming desire that rippled out all the way to her toes and fingertips. Consumed with all these feelings, she was compelled to let them out. She kissed Naya slowly, not taking one second of it for granted. As her lips moved with Naya's she slowly and sensually dipped her tongue into Naya's mouth wanting to revel in the taste of her. Then she lightly drew out Naya's bottom lip, delicately sucking on it and eliciting a small whimper from Naya's voice. She began deliberately trailing slow and wet kisses down her jaw and to her neck, tenderly sucking on her pulse point.

As Heather moved up her neck, Naya could feel the light graze of her nose on the outer shell of her ear and she felt Heather's warm breath there. Her head rolled back and she curled one hand further around Heather's back while the other ran up her neck and tangled in her blonde, bedhead hair.

With her lips, Heather took in every inch of skin she could possibly find above Naya's neckline. Eventually her hands began roaming down over the smooth swell of Naya's butt, and it caused Naya's breath to hitch. Heather hooked her thumbs underneath the waistband of her sweatpants, slowly pulling them down. Once she got them halfway down her thighs, Naya wiggled them down to her ankles and stepped out of them, flinging them off to the side with her foot. Heather hastily returned her lips to Naya's as her hand possessively formed around Naya's ass.

Relishing in Heather's touch and how their mouths molded together, Naya briefly stroked her tongue across Heather's and caressed her lips as she held her close. An almost inaudible and soft moan escaped Heather's mouth, as if she were begging for more contact. At the sound, Naya's whole body began to hum with a desire and craving to provide Heather with all the satisfaction of pleasure she could ever want. Somehow, providing for her needs were now of the utmost importance.

Naya traced her fingers across the bottom of Heather's tank top and her thumbs snuck underneath to lightly press against her stomach. At the same time, Heather bunched the bottom of Naya's shirt in her hand, tugging it, and they found themselves fumbling back toward the bed.

As the back of Heather's knees hit the side of the bed, she pulled Naya into her lap and sat upright so that Naya was now straddling her. Simultaneously, she tightened her grip around Naya's legs, pulling her as close as possible and she pressed forward dipping her mouth further into Naya's, wanting to capture more of her. It caused Naya to draw in a deep breath from her nose, feeling as if she would shoot off into the sky if it weren't for Heather keeping her steady and holding her so close.

As Heather began rubbing and massaging her palms and fingertips up and down Naya's thighs, Naya slowly began rolling her hips forward and into Heather's. Both of them could feel the heat building between them, growing so overwhelmingly sensitive to each touch that it was almost too much to bare, and yet they each yearned for more.

Naya's hands slid across Heather's shoulders and down the perfectly round form of her breasts. As her fingers ghosted over them, Naya could tell her nipples were hard and erect. Her hands moved down to hook underneath Heather's tank top and she slipped it up and off, tossing it to the side. She then cupped her hand behind Heather's neck and, with her other hand, lightly pressed on the center of her abs, guiding Heather to lie down.

Heather shifted backward along the sheets as Naya lowered herself on top and shifted a bit so she could bring her mouth to indulge in the dip of Heather's neck. Her kisses were wet and eager yet gentle and sensuous as she moved down along Heather's neck to her collarbone, generously using her tongue. Heather's breathing became erratic and her body began to roll up into Naya's hands, which were now flattering her stomach, her thumbs eventually playing along the soft skin just under her breasts.

Tracing her hands back down the smooth curve of Heather's waist and hips, Naya began tugging down at Heather's shorts. Heather helped her and pulled them completely off, shoving them off her ankles and off the bed with her foot.

Naya's thigh impulsively found it's way between Heather's legs, pressing up against her center, which was now throbbing with pressure and soaked through to the fabric of her panties. Heather let out an involuntary little moan and was quick to grasp at the small of Naya's back as Naya continued to kiss and caress all her most sensitive spots along her shoulders, neck and chest. After a moment, Naya could feel Heather's pulse racing against her lips. Heather was starting to become breathless with quick and labored gasps for air. Naya could feel a quick shudder shoot through Heather's body.

Upon recognition of those subtle changes and having learned from previous experience, Naya consciously slowed it down, releasing her leg from in between Heather's, and bringing her head up. At the sight of Heather's lips quivering with uncertainty, Naya soothingly cupped her hand around Heather's face and the pad of her thumb softly streaked across her cheek. She took a moment to let Heather gather herself with at least a modicum of stability.

Despite the obvious, both of them knew where all of this was going. They could feel it in each other, how much both of them were desirous of it. But Naya became patient and attentive, selflessly thinking only of Heather. She wanted to hold her, take care of her, and look after her. Heather's safety, her comfort, her fears, desires and dreams, anything she could ever need or want were now of the utmost importance.

"Is this okay?" Naya spoke gently. "Are you scared?"

Heather lightly nodded her head up and down. "A little," she said, her voice unsteady. "I…I can't help it…" she trailed off, not knowing how to find the right words.

"It's okay," Naya cooed. "We don't have to if you don't want to. Either way, I'm right here. I'll always be right here."

"No, it's not that," Heather was quick to correct her. "Naya, I can't help but want _you_. I want to know every part of you." Flustered, she brought her palm to her forehead as she continued trying to catch her breath. "I...I don't think I've ever wanted anything more," her words continued to fumble out.

Heather's voice was frazzled but her words sincere. However, Naya could see a flash of insecurity in her blue eyes. She had some sort of reservation she was holding back. Naya remained silent and patient, letting Heather take her time.

Taking in a big gulp of air, Heather finally settled herself a bit. She tilted her body upward, propping herself up by her forearms and shifting her eyes to Naya's. "I want to share everything that I am with you." She was soft-spoken and assured but quickly glanced away as she worried her bottom lip. The weight of her next thought flashed through her eyes and was now plainly written on her face.

Naya soothingly ran her thumb across Heather's cheek once more. She wanted to give her comfort and let her know that it was okay to be scared about something, but that she wasn't alone.

At that small touch, Heather shifted her eyes back up to Naya's, baring her deepest vulnerability. "But, even after all of that…what if..." Heather took a sharp breath in. "What if I'm still not enough?"

"Is that what gets you so scared?"

Heather nodded.

"That's impossible," Naya assured, shaking her head. "You could never not be enough. Even on your worst day, being with you is like breathing to me."

Heather could hear those words ring true in Naya's voice and it pierced straight to her soul.

Naya smiled a little and let out a small chuckle. "If that makes any sense."

Heather couldn't help but smile a little too. She couldn't even begin to explain how much sense it made. But she didn't have to explain it. She felt it, and that was enough. Despite any amount of self-doubt, Heather overwhelmingly knew that everything about this moment was exactly where she needed to be.

"But if you wanna wait, if you're still not sure—"

"Naya," Heather cut her off, running her hand up Naya's arm, and reciprocating the steadiness in her voice. "I've never been more sure of anything in my life."

Heather leaned up, cupping her hand around Naya's neck and capturing her lips with certainty, urgency, and a deep desire simply to be with her and know her heart in every way possible. If she didn't she was sure she might break. Naya returned the same impassioned sentiment.

Sitting up, Heather pressed further into Naya, running her hands up her tanned legs and then her torso. She grabbed the bottom of her shirt and pulled it up and off over her head, tossing it off to the side. Naya tangled her hands up Heather's neck and up into her blonde hair.

Then Heather suddenly and swiftly flipped them over on the bed, never breaking their kiss or their embrace as they crashed back onto the sheets, their bodies flush together. She ravenously dipped her tongue into Naya's mouth and brought her hand up to cup Naya's breast, tenderly kneading it. Naya started to softly moan into Heather's mouth. The sounds Naya was making and the way her body was rolling and squirming was driving Heather wild. And her tongue was so velvety; every stroke was like tasting chocolate.

Slowly drawing Naya's bottom lip out, she sucked on it for a moment before moving down her jaw and neck to the top of her chest. Heather pressed the palm of her hand flat against the smooth skin of Naya's stomach. She began moving her hand downward, over her belly button until she slipped the pad of her thumb just underneath the fabric of Naya's panties. She traced her thumb along the skin there, across her hips and back again until she reached the side where she was met by Naya's hand.

Naya had looped her fingers around her own panties and began pulling down. With her other hand, Heather looped her fingers through the other side and pulled them down with her. Heather shifted off of Naya a bit in order to successfully get the garment off. Before she could move back into place, Naya hooked her arm around Heather's waist and rolled them over, flipping their positions.

Heather found herself flat on the bed again, with Naya's breasts pressed into hers, and those deep brown eyes gliding all over her face; from her lips to her eyes, to her nose and cheeks, like she was taking in every little possible detail. Naya smoothly ran her hands up Heather's arms, extending them up above her head along the bed. She pressed her palms into Heather's hands and entwined their fingers. Leaning down into her, Naya began with a kiss to Heather's lips, then down her jaw and neck, across her collarbone and up her neck again until she reached her ear.

"Tell me what you want," she whispered, her voice husky and her breath hot.

A small, whiny little moan squeaked out of Heather's throat. The knotting and tension and heat between her legs and deep down in her core was almost becoming unbearable. And then Naya's hot breath in her ear made her squirm even more. She had never been so turned on in her life. She didn't even know if she was capable of forming words or even speaking at the moment.

In a silent gesture to communicate, Heather impulsively rolled her hips up into Naya. She then guided Naya's left hand down her own body, stopping it just over the mound of her panties. Naya cupped her hand around it and she could feel the immense wetness through the fabric of Heather's panties.

Heather moved her hand to start pulling her panties down but Naya suddenly stopped her. "Let me," she husked out once again.

Naya sensually and gradually moved down Heather's body with sporadic, long and wet kisses while also letting her lips drag and catch along her breasts, her nipples, the skin of her stomach, and the curve of her waist. Her mouth reached the outline of Heather's underwear and she kissed all along her hips. She slipped her fingers underneath the garment on each side and slowly moved to pull them down and off, unceremoniously dropping the garment to the floor.

As she began crawling back over Heather's body, she started gliding her hands over one of Heather's legs, slowly lifting it up. She ran her hands along the smooth and taut muscle of Heather's calf. Then she started sliding her hands down Heather's thigh, trailing sensuous and wet kisses from the inside of her knee to her inner thigh and around toward her hipbone. She then kissed back up Heather's body, across her abs and chest as she crawled back over her, eventually resting each of her knees on either side of Heather's right leg.

Heather's heart was now racing. By the time Naya's mouth and hands had moved down her leg, Heather was uncontrollably squirming even more and her breathing was becoming heavy. She even had to throw her arms behind her head and clutch at the side of the bed. As Naya moved back on top of her, she unhooked her hand from the side of the bed and found Naya's instead. She guided Naya's hand downward again, between her legs until her fingers were barely an inch above where they needed to be. Heather couldn't stand it anymore. She needed Naya to touch her there.

Naya slipped one hand around Heather's waist to hold her by the back while her other hand dipped down between her legs. Heather gasped and let out a small, pleasurable little moan at the touch of Naya's fingers to her most sensitive spot. Naya's fingers were instantly soaked as they started slowly exploring through her slick folds.

"You're so wet," she heavily breathed out.

Heather rolled her hips up and further against Naya's hand as her fingers began making small circular movements accompanied by some light pressure. Simultaneously, Heather's right leg impulsively shot up between Naya's legs, making contact and becoming slick with wetness.

At the contact, an involuntary groan escaped Naya's throat and her head pitched forward into the crook of Heather's neck. She knew the tension had been building up but she didn't realize how sensitive she had become throughout all of this. She couldn't help but rock her hips back and forth across Heather's leg, getting some of the stimulation she now so desperately wanted.

The heat emanating from both of their bodies was palpable, their skin laced with a thin layer of sweat. Heather tangled her hand up into Naya's hair. "You like that," she stated with a smile as she breathed out near the shell of Naya's ear.

Naya gulped and shook her head up and down against Heather's shoulder. As she continued rocking her hips, Heather pressed her leg further up into Naya. After a moment, Naya slowed the rhythm of her hips and fingers. She then moved two of her fingers down toward Heather's entrance, adding very light pressure there.

Despite how much she so desperately wanted the pressure between her own legs to come undone, Naya wanted to satisfy Heather even more. She brought her head up to look into Heather's face. "Can I?" she softly husked out.

Heather nodded her head and Naya pushed two fingers inside of her, curling them upward. Heather let out a thick and throaty sort of moan as her eyes shut and her head curled forward over Naya's shoulder. Bracing herself, her arm slid up Naya's back, her fingers dragging along her skin.

Naya tightened her grip around Heather's back, holding her steady as she brought her thumb up to the sensitive bundle of nerves between Heather's legs, making concentric circles there and adding pressure. She started pumping her fingers in and out, slowly and then gradually gaining speed until she reached a rhythm that was just fast enough.

Slamming her head back down on the bed, Heather started panting, her breath becoming ragged and her hips rolling back and forth with the rhythm of Naya's hand. When Naya added just a touch more pressure, Heather thought she might burst and her pelvis began wildly and uncontrollably bucking up and down.

In earnest, Naya watched as the rollercoaster of emotions flashed across Heather's face. Her jaw was slack and her mouth agape as she arched her back and let out a series of short, high pitched but throaty little moans, accompanied with each thrust. She was coming undone and it was the most beautiful Naya had ever seen her.

Finally, Heather made one last thrust upward with her hips as her head curled forward, nestling against Naya's forehead. She tangled and clutched her hand in Naya's brown hair. Naya reached deep inside her, curling her fingers as the walls tightened and closed around them. Though her mouth was agape, Heather's voice was caught in her throat and her eyes remained pinched shut. After a moment, she let out a breath that she seemed to be holding for an eternity, her chest heaving up and down. She shuddered with release, clarity and ecstatic pleasure as her breath panted out of her mouth, her lip quivering and getting caught on Naya's.

Moving her hand up Heather's back and neck, Naya cradled her hand behind Heather's head and lightly pressed down with her body, guiding Heather to lay back. Heather's eyes relaxed but remained shut while she took her time regaining her breath. After a moment, Naya slowly removed her fingers, which caused another small shudder to course through Heather's body.

When Heather opened her eyes, she instantly saw Naya's deep brown ones gazing at her and she felt safe and secure, exhilarated and euphoric, all at once.

A small smile crossed Naya's lips as she brought her hand around the side of Heather's face, wiping a few beads of sweat from her forehead with her thumb. "You okay?" she asked, her voice so soft and gentle.

Heather returned the same smile and nodded her head as she gulped and took a few heavy breaths. Naya tenderly brought her lips to Heather's eyelids, kissing them sweetly before moving to place equally tender and sweet kisses on her cheeks and forehead. She soothingly rubbed her thumb across Heather's cheek once more as she gazed down into her eyes.

After a moment, Heather regained her voice, though it was still a bit breathy. "That was incredible."

Naya's eyes fluttered a little as she let out a soft chuckle. "Glad you liked it."

Heather reciprocated the small laugh, a wide smile forming across her face and her eyes lit up. "I wanna make _you_ feel that good."

In one fluid motion, Heather grabbed Naya by her waist and thigh, rolled both of them over on their sides, hitched Naya's leg up against her hip, and pressed her leg up in between Naya's as she captured her lips in the most impassioned and heated kiss she'd ever given her.

At the contact of Heather's leg, a moan escaped Naya's throat and into Heather's mouth. The pressure between her legs intensified and though Naya thought it was quite impossible, she was even more wet than before. Heather started kissing down Naya's neck. She could feel her tensing up and Naya rolled her head to the side burying it in the fabric of the sheets.

Heather wanted to see all of Naya and touch every part of her. Grabbing hold of Naya's leg, she hitched it tight against her hip, rolled sideways and sat up, grabbing hold of her other leg and hitching tight against her other hip, so Naya was sitting up on top of her. Heather formed her hands around the swell of Naya's butt and pulled her close. She could feel the immense wetness against the lower part of her abs and wanted nothing more than to drown herself in it.

Slipping her hand between their bodies, Heather slid her hand down in between Naya's legs. She ran her fingers over the engorged swell of Naya's most sensitive spot, and then slid her fingers through her slick folds.

At Heather's touch, Naya clutched and tightened her hand in Heather's blonde hair, dragging the fingers of her other hand down Heather's back, scratching at her skin. Naya was radiating with heat as her hips kept rolling into Heather's hand.

Heather continued engulfing the skin of Naya's neck with her mouth as she kept running her fingers down through Naya's wet center and up to that little bundle of nerves that made her hips pitch forward with such eagerness. Heather's fingers were soaked but she was overwhelmed with how good Naya felt - slippery, glossy, sleek and smooth.

"You feel amazing," Heather breathed out against Naya's neck.

Naya eagerly pitched her hips forward again as Heather's thumb grazed across her clit. "Mm..." she was breathing heavily and could barely get a word out. "More," she begged. "Inside."

Heather moved her hand to the small of Naya's back, holding her up as she carefully slid two fingers inside.

Both of them shuddered at just how good it felt and a throaty little whimper escaped Naya's lips as her arms and hands tightened around Heather's shoulders and neck. Heather gradually started drawing her fingers in and out as she also took Naya's breast into her mouth, using her tongue to flick at her hard nipple and then caress it. She was overcome with how warm and sensational it felt with her fingers inside of her, and the way Naya's body began rocking, moving like a wave, in sync with the rhythm Heather had built up.

Heather could feel Naya's heart racing, and her whole body humming and pulsating, holding on like she was about to lose all sense of control. Suddenly, Heather flicked her thumb upward over the swell of Naya's most sensitive spot. It caused her to cry out with an ecstatic and high-pitched sort of whimper. It sounded like she was desirous and begging for more. So Heather kept flicking her thumb, again and again, as Naya let out a pleasurable little moan every time.

Finally, it seemed like Naya couldn't take it anymore. Heather could feel it, like she was teetering on the edge and about ready to burst. Heather pressed her thumb to Naya's clit, slowly drawing out circles there as she pressed her fingers as far in as they would go. Naya's eyes pinched shut and her hips began bucking faster and faster until the walls started to clench tightly around Heather's fingers. Her hips slowed with a few long and drawn out thrusts as her voice escaped from her throat, crying out with an equally long and drawn out, high-pitched moan.

Nothing sounded more beautiful to Heather than Naya's voice in that moment. Nothing felt better than Naya clutching onto her as she came undone. Heather gazed up at Naya's face as it gradually changed from an expression of intense desperation and longing to the soft glow of euphoric ecstasy. It was the most pleasurable and satisfying thing Heather had ever seen.

Naya leaned forward, comfortably resting her arms across Heather's shoulder and her forehead against Heather's. Her chest heaved up and down as she continued panting for air.

A smile formed across Heather's lips. She remained silent, letting Naya catch her breath and reveling in the moment, seeing Naya this way, so raw and vulnerable. Once Naya seemed to come down and settle a bit, Heather slowly removed her fingers and placed her hand on the small of Naya's back, holding her up as she trembled in her arms. She brought her other hand up to soothingly trace her fingers over the skin of Naya's arm.

Naya still had her eyes closed as she gulped, trying to settle herself even more, like she was suddenly scared about having been so vulnerable and open with someone.

Heather gently caressed her hand around the side of Naya's face. "Hey," Heather spoke softly and lovingly. "It's alright. It's just me."

Naya opened her eyes to look into Heather's and was met with all the assurance, safety, comfort and tenderness of heart that she could ever hope for.

Heather placed her lips to Naya's, their mouths forming together in a sweet and delicately tender kiss.

Gazing up into Naya's eyes, Heather gently ran the pad of her thumb across Naya's cheek. "You're beautiful."

A soft smile spread across Naya's lips as Heather ran her hand through Naya's hair to caress the back of her head. She leaned back, guiding Naya to lay down on top of her. Naya tangled her arms underneath Heather and comfortably nestled her head onto the top of Heather's chest, shutting her eyes as she became overwhelmed with the haze of sleep.

Wrapping her arm around Naya's warm body, Heather soothingly ran her fingers through Naya's dark hair as she held her close. She gazed down at her, safe and sound, beautiful and radiant as she drifted off to sleep. Heather smiled and placed one last soft and loving kiss to Naya's forehead, before drifting off to sleep as well, never more comfortable than to fall asleep with Naya in her arms.

* * *

**A/N:** I want to sincerely apologize for the long wait in updating. My schedule has been so full for the past month that the only time I had to write was a few hours on the weekends. I think my beta and I have figured out a good groove now though, and if I can manage my time efficiently then hopefully the waiting in between chapters will not be so long in the future.

Big thanks to my beta, TheKittyPaw. I really hope you all enjoyed this chapter, especially the last part. I think it's something you all were looking forward to and I was really nervous about writing it, for obvious reasons.

If you liked the chapter, please leave a review. I would love to hear your thoughts. :)


	15. Princess

**A/N:** There's a movie clip used toward the end of this chapter. It's pretty clearly defined where the clip makes its appearance. Here's the link address to the youtube clip. Just fill in 'youtube' in front of it:

watch?v=hoZuMb19RJ4

******Disclaimer:** This story is a work of fiction loosely based on real people that I do not actually know. I've taken a lot of personal liberties with this story so, aside from the use of names and episode titles, all characterizations and events are purely fiction. I have no affiliation with Glee or anyone who works on Glee.

**Bold As Love**

**Ch. 15: Princess**

Heather's whole body felt like deadweight, like she was a rock that had sunk to the bottom of a river but with a gentle current washing over her muscles. She could feel the subtle movements of a warm body pressed into her; the slight expansion of a soft stomach against her side and then the quiet exhale of damp breath at the bottom of her neck. A lazy smile pulled up at the corner of her lips. Her blue eyes fluttered open to see Naya cuddled into her, steadily breathing and peacefully asleep.

There was a glow about the room. It could've been from the soft, early morning light pouring through the window, or it could've been from waking up this way, the same way they'd fallen asleep, wrapped in each other and their legs tangled in the sheets. Heather's arm was still comfortably beneath Naya whose head was nestled on top of Heather's chest, her arm draped across her waist.

Heather simply gazed down at their bodies, how comfortably they seemed to fit together, how simple and blissfully perfect it felt with Naya so beautifully in her arms. Breathing in. Breathing out. The sleep filled hum of Naya's body was so subtle and yet Heather felt every part of it. She couldn't help this giddy feeling percolating within her as she smiled down at Naya's sleepy face. She wiggled her toes and gently ran the inside arch of her foot up part of Naya's leg.

Though she hadn't opened her eyes yet, Naya was slowly lifting out of the fog of sleep. With her ear pressed to Heather's chest, she could hear her heart beat soft and steady, further tethering her own heart and soul to that rhythm and that sound.

After a moment Naya nodded her head forward and pressed her cheek into Heather's skin. Her eyes crinkled at the corners as she stirred awake. Heather could feel Naya's lashes bat against her skin and it tickled her a bit. Naya turned her head up to see Heather's big blue eyes gazing down at her with a silly smile plastered across her face. Heather smoothly ran the arch of her foot up Naya's leg again, which caused Naya to bashfully tuck her lips into her mouth. Wiggling her toes against Heather's and running her hand up the side of her waist, Naya shifted her body upward so they lay side by side, her gaze never leaving Heather's.

Helpless to stop it, Heather beamed even more, to the point where it looked like she might start bubbling with laughter. In turn, Naya let out a sleepy, almost inaudible little laugh.

"What is it?" Heather whispered in the most intimate and yet fascinated way.

"You just keep smiling."

Now Heather became bashful, tucking her head down and her lips in, but the joy remained in her eyes. "I just feel really happy right now," she said as the pad of her thumb wandered across Naya's skin.

"Yeah?" A spark of light filled Naya's deep brown eyes.

Heather lightly nodded her head and a small yet still beaming smile returned to her face. "This is better than waking up to daisies."

An effortless smile formed across Naya's lips. She shifted a bit closer, leaning in to kiss her but stopped just short of it, their faces inches apart. Naya was suddenly captivated by the brilliant shade of blue the morning light brought to Heather's eyes. It was the mixture of a radiant blue sky, clear ice, and the deep hues of a tropical ocean.

After a moment, Heather softly whispered, "Hi."

"Hi," Naya tenderly whispered back. She nudged her nose against Heather's and then placed an extra soft and sweet kiss there. Then she gently took Heather's smiling lips in with hers.

Both girls began to giggle through continued playful and tenderly light kisses. A tingly feeling filled Naya's whole body as she shifted and rolled so she was laying slightly on top of Heather. She slid her palm further up the side of Heather's waist, her fingertips dancing along her skin, and Heather slid the arch of her foot up and down Naya's leg again.

The moment was simple. Waking up together. They'd done it a hundred times but somehow this felt different. A bubbly feeling started in Heather's toes and coursed through her legs, stomach and chest, all the way up to her nose. Though Heather wouldn't be able to put it into words if she tried, she could swear those butterflies everyone always talks about were making her heart flutter to life. Somehow Heather felt like these little moments, a gentle nuzzle here, a small touch there, they were little ways that the two of them seemed to be breathing life into each other, and in a rhythm all their own. Heather couldn't help but feel as if her heart was truly beating for the first time.

Naya began lightly grazing her fingertips down Heather's arm, which was still splayed out across the bed.

However, the feeling in Heather's arm was a bit muffled. "I think my arm is still asleep," she chuckled.

With a smirk, Naya playfully quirked her eyebrow upward. "Let me fix that for you." Trailing feather light kisses along Heather's skin, Naya started at her collarbone, working her way over her shoulder, down her arm to the crook of her elbow and down to her palm. Heather began giggling again as Naya worked her way back up, smirking up at Heather as she continued her trail of kisses.

Pleased with herself when she was done, Naya asked, "How about now?"

"All better," Heather sighed with a smile. She tucked a loose strand of hair behind Naya's ear and leaned up to place a feather light kiss to Naya's lips, just like the trail of kisses she'd left on her arm.

With her arm buzzing awake now, she found Naya's hand amidst the sheets, threaded their fingers together and wrapped her other arm around Naya's waist, along with the loose bed sheet. Holding her tight, Heather rolled and flipped them over on the bed so she was now on top of Naya and with the bed sheet wrapped around their bodies.

Naya started giggling with the sudden and unexpected change of position. "I like that little roll-flip move you do." She slid her foot up against Heather's leg. "It's a major turn on," she suggestively added.

"I'll have to remember that," Heather said with a satisfied smirk.

Leaning down into Naya, Heather began with a soft kiss to her lips before placing butterfly kisses all down her neck. Naya closed her eyes and hummed contentedly with each touch as Heather cupped her palm around the dip of Naya's waist and ran her thumb across the skin of her stomach. Heather lightly grazed her nose and lips over Naya's chest and varyingly placed soft, tender kisses along her skin as she moved down her body. Heather pulled the bed sheet up and her head disappeared under it as she started kissing down the center of Naya's torso and stomach.

Naya felt a small sense of anticipation now and a sound escaped her lips, somewhere between a hum and moan.

A mischievous smirk appeared on Heather's face as she grazed her nose just above Naya's belly button. She then pressed her slightly parted lips to Naya's skin there, and forcibly blew an exceptional amount of air out, making her lips rapidly vibrate against Naya's skin with a loud, motor-like sound.

"Ah!" Naya yelped. An uproarious and full-bodied, guttural laugh bounded out of her from the tickling sensation.

Heather started giggling too as she popped her head up and out from the bed sheet with a goofy grin aimed up at Naya. She was pleased with herself that she got Naya to laugh in that carefree laugh that was so rare.

Naya looked down at Heather, running her hands through the blonde hair at the back of her head, partly so she wouldn't blow another raspberry on her. "That was super sexy," she said sarcastically and still breathlessly chuckling.

Heather let out another little giggle and a smile before placing a quick kiss upon Naya's stomach. "As your personal tickle monster I get to blow raspberries on you now," she playfully stated as she crawled back up Naya's body to lay next to her.

"Oh no, what have I gotten myself into," Naya sighed contentedly, her eyes once again intoxicated with the morning blue light in Heather's eyes.

The girls spent the remainder of the morning laying in bed, content to stay in the gleeful state of simply enjoying the close and intimate presence of one another, rolling around in the sheets and happily messing up Naya's bed.

* * *

The next couple of days were the most blissful two days both Naya and Heather could ever remember having. They got caught up in each other, elated with the euphoric high of simply being together. The only time there was ever any sense of a world outside themselves was one morning when they were lying in bed and Naya helplessly blurted out, "Come spend the weekend with me and my family."

With a smile, Heather joked back, "Bringing me home to meet the family already?" and delightfully accepted Naya's offer.

In their own little world, there was no sense of time or reality, except for what was happening right in front of them. It wasn't until the morning of Kevin's "End of Hiatus" bash that the gravity of everything came into their immediate consciousness.

There was the question of how open they would be in front of Naya's family that weekend, but what seemed even more pressing was that the girls suddenly realized they were going back to work in a few days and they couldn't conduct themselves on set the way they had over the last few weeks. Not unless they wanted to become the number one piece of gossip on the Paramount Lot. That was completely out of the question. They agreed that they didn't want to be put under a microscope or fuel the 'on-set rumor-mill.' They were still apprehensive about being open with their close friends and family, let alone running the risk of it getting back to Ryan or any of the higher ups at FOX. They'd heard of too many on-set relationships gone bad because of cast and crew gossip and studio politics. All of it seemed too overwhelming and they decided to keep things as hidden as possible so no one would suspect a thing.

That morning they discussed a 'game plan' on what they should do about it, but Heather's mind felt like a whirlwind with all these new boundaries and rules they had to keep in mind. Her eyes kept flitting back and forth with the rapid pace of her thoughts and her nerves kept her bouncing in her seat as they drove to Kevin's.

"Okay, so can we go over the plan for this weekend one more time? I just wanna make sure I have everything straight in my head."

"We're definitely not straight," Naya chuckled, trying to keep things light hearted.

A smile broke across Heather's face as she looked over at Naya in the driver's seat and smacked her arm. "You know what I mean."

"Okay, okay." Naya composed herself to speak seriously now. "So at my parents just act like you would normally act around them. Like we're just close friends."

"What about Mychal and Nickayla?" Heather inquired. "You said they'd be cool with it."

As apprehensive as Heather was about being open about their relationship, she didn't know if she could go a whole weekend pretending they were just friends. That sounded like torture. Maybe if they were open with Naya's siblings it would give them some type of reprieve, like a safe zone.

"Yeah they'd be cool with it," Naya nodded. "But Nik also can't keep a secret from my mom to save her life. And Mychal? He can be…" She squinted her eyes toward the road, searching for the right word. "_Protective_ of me," she decided that was the most diplomatic way to say it. "I just don't want him getting the wrong idea and treating you any different."

Heather's lips formed into a line as she looked forward through the windshield. Shy about her next question, she began fiddling with her thumbs in her lap. "So…so, what about your parents? Would they…" her voice became distant.

Sensing her dismay, Naya fixed her attention on Heather to confidently reassure her. "Are you kidding? My parents think you're great!"

The corner of Heather's lips tugged upward in a small, grateful smile. She was glad Naya was so confident about her parents opinion of her.

Seeing that Heather was comforted, Naya mirrored the same small smile as she returned her eyes to the road. "And they know I like girls too," she reassured once again. "It's just that I never really talk to them about that stuff. To be honest I don't know if things would get weird or not with them." A sense of worry crept into Naya's eyes. "I don't know. For now I think we should just play it off like we're friends, especially with my extended family there…" Her words trailed off for a moment, before she shook her head and began rambling her concerns. "They're just a lot more conservative and old school and they're gonna have a million questions and the glares and the judgment…it's just a lot to handle. It'll be easier if we…" She began chewing her lip as her words trailed off once again. Her eyes were trained forward on the road but flitting back and forth getting lost with her thoughts. With her hand steadfastly on the gearshift, she kept gripping it like it was a stress ball.

Knowing Heather's slight apprehension about the weekend, Naya was trying her best to seem calm, but it was clear that she was insanely worried about how this weekend would unfold. In fact she was probably even more worried than Heather.

Immediately picking up on her tell-tale signs of anxiety, Heather calmly placed her hand over Naya's. "Okay. So just friends like normal at your parents."

Feeling the warmth of Heather's hand was all Naya needed. She took a deep breath, holding it for a moment before sighing with relief. "And then today just think of it like a dry run for being on set next week. Nothing too flirty but we don't want to over-do it and pretend like we're ignoring each other either cause then people will definitely think something is up."

A thought crossed Heather's mind, which suddenly made her endearingly concerned. "Wait, so what are the rules on touching?" She began to speak rapidly. "Can I touch you? Is that still allowed? Like what if I just wanna hold your hand? Cause that happens at least like 20 times a day for me."

The way Heather said it made Naya smile. Though she spoke frantically, Heather somehow made her concern for the 'rules on touching' incredibly cute, like whether or not they could hold hands suddenly became the most important thing in the world to her. It was innocently playful and yet completely true. They'd always been a bit touchy with each other but it became more apparent, as of late, that physical touch, whether innocent, intimate, or sexual, was an important, almost necessary layer in how they communicate with each other.

It was true for both of them. Naya couldn't even begin to count how many times in a day she wanted to simply hold Heather's hand or wrap her arms around her. Naya let the thought linger for a moment before clearing her throat to respond, speaking as though she were a bit unsure of herself. "Um, well I guess we just have to do whatever we did for the past year and a half. Like absolutely nothing out of the ordinary has happened recently."

"Well that's gonna be hard to do. There's no way I can ignore the past couple weeks. I can see you naked whenever I want now." With a goofy grin Heather impulsively and giddily bounced in her seat.

Naya's eyes widened. "Heather, I'm right in front of you and I have clothes on." She debated.

"No, like in my head." Heather closed her eyes and a smile only a blissful idiot could pull off helplessly spread across her face. "Yeah, you're totally naked and it's awesome!"

Naya playfully shoved at Heather's arm. "Stop it." She said half-heartedly and laughing. She felt like she should probably care that Heather's mind was so visual and vivid that she could picture a naked Naya whenever she wanted, but the truth was Naya didn't mind one bit. Actually, she rather liked it.

Both of them were giggling now. The light heartedness was a nice reprieve from the general nature of the conversation they'd been having thus far, but they were pulling up to Kevin's house now. Suddenly the reality of what lay before them made itself known again.

"No but seriously, we don't want anyone suspecting anything," Naya said trying to compose herself.

"No," Heather sighed as she came down from her laughter, dropping into the reality of the situation. "No, definitely not."

As Naya finished parking the car, Heather peered out the window towards Kevin's house. She thought about everyone inside. They were probably having a good time and she wanted so much to join them. They were her friends after all. But they were also her co-workers. Suddenly, the anxiety of hiding washed over her. It felt like someone had shoved a small splinter in her side, one of which she would be constantly and painfully aware.

* * *

As the girls approached Kevin's front door, Heather's heart began racing and wouldn't stop for the next hour. Once they walked in the house Heather left Naya's side and avoided eye contact or even being within three feet of her. She was overcompensating, like if someone even caught her glancing at Naya it would be a dead give away. Dianna immediately noticed the guarded vibe she was giving off and privately offered a few words of comfort but to no avail. She tried using all the mental capacity she could muster to calm herself down but the feeling was a vicious circle. She was nervous from being so aware that they were actively trying to hide something but the fact that she was so aware is what made the change in her demeanor so noticeable. It wasn't until Naya casually pulled her into the kitchen to 'make some drinks' that Heather started to calm down.

In an inconspicuous part of the empty room, Naya gently took hold of Heather's hands, giving them a light squeeze. "Hey, talk to me. Is everything okay?" she asked, her eyes concerned and caring.

"Yeah." Heather's voice seemed small. "Yeah, I'm just nervous."

"I know, me too." Naya's voice matched the weight of Heather's.

Looking down at her own shuffling feet, Heather could feel her body trying to get rid of all the frazzled energy as fast as possible through any type of movement.

Attempting to take Heather's attention away from her nerves, Naya tilted her head down a little to try and get into her eyeline. "You gotta stop avoiding me though. It's scary and it's freaking me out and it's making me even more nervous."

Heather looked up with a singular type of concern, shoving her own worry to the side in place of Naya's. "Well I don't wanna make you nervous, cause that just makes me nervous."

The corner of Naya's lips curled upward slightly, appreciative of Heather but unsure of what to do, though she desperately wanted to alleviate the pressure.

Heather's feet settled and she took a deep breath. Naya followed her lead and mirrored her, breathing deeply. They both slowly let out all their pent up nerves together. A soothing relief washed over both of them.

Naya offered assurance as she rubbed the pad of her thumb over Heather's hand. It was like she was silently asking if things felt better now.

Heather shook her head yes, as if to answer.

"They're just our friends. Let's try and have some fun. 'Kay?"

Squeezing Naya's hands with hers, she brought them up and started drumming the backs of Naya's fingers on her forehead. Naya began chuckling at Heather's quirky but adorable way of relieving the rest of the tension.

Heather laughed when she was done. It was comforting to see Naya's concern replaced with a smile. Everything was going to be fine so long as they remained relaxed. "Okay," she resolved with a smile and led Naya back out to the pool deck to join their friends.

Once the girls' blinding nervousness dissipated there was nothing to it. They could actually enjoy themselves in the company of their closest friends. There was an air of excitement with most of the cast sharing the same space again after a few weeks apart. Everyone easily slid back into their usual dynamics with merriment, camaraderie and general tomfoolery, like a rock band reunion. Everyone picked up right where they'd left off.

Kevin kept a filled margarita glass in pretty much everyone's hand throughout the day. Lea, Chris and Jenna spent a majority of their time tanning by the pool and refusing to get in the water. Meanwhile, Cory and Mark found some remote control toy speed boats in one of Kevin's closets and proceeded to hold their own Aquatic Daytona 500. Chord and Heather appointed themselves as the "in-pool saboteurs" of the races and terrorized the toy boats. Later, Ashley showed up with her new waterproof case for her 'Go-pro' camera. Darren, Kevin and Dianna indulged themselves in a series of leisure diving photos before Heather got hold of the camera. Her, Ashley, Naya and Chord started recording enough underwater fish and mermaid impressions that Ashley could feasibly edit together the most randomly improvised underwater short film ever.

Aside from the massive amount of margaritas and making good use of the floating beer pong table, most of the fun and antics seemed to be quite carefree and innocent. But at some point in the day Naya and Heather unknowingly began playing a teasing game of cat and mouse with each other. However nervous they were before, it was replaced with three times the amount of growing sexual tension between them and it only escalated as the day went on.

It began with a few glances here and there. After all, they were in their bikinis. Both of them found it difficult not to look. At one point Heather had unknowingly been staring at Naya's boobs for so long that Dianna caught her and splashed a huge amount of water in her face, accompanied with a look that said, 'you might wanna cool it.' Heather just laughed and splashed her right back.

Later, Naya was sitting in one of the pool chairs, tanning, and the drink cooler happened to be situated on the ground right in front of her. So it was a tease, to say the least, when Heather came over and bent down to get a drink from the cooler, right in front of her. The tension finally got to a point where it was so heightened and palpable, at least to those in the know, that Kevin felt the need to at least make Naya aware of how obvious it was. He said something to the effect that it was the finest display of eye sex, the likes of which the world has yet to see. Naya got a good laugh out of the comment but she also got the message loud and clear.

Once Kevin started firing up the grill to make more food he realized he didn't have enough coal so Cory, Heather and Chord ran to the store to get more. Although they were only gone for a little bit, Naya was surprised at how glaringly aware she was that Heather was no longer in the vicinity. She became a little more jumpy than normal and was half in/half out of conversation with Lea the whole time, as her mind kept drifting to Heather. She kept looking around periodically to see if Heather and the boys were back yet. Part of her thought it was ridiculous that Heather's absence was pinching her to be so alert all of a sudden. It's not like they'd been attached at the hip all day but it was nice that Naya could conceivably glance across the pool deck at anytime and no doubt Heather would sense it and give her a little smile, either innocently or suggestively. They'd been doing that back and forth all day. Naya didn't realize how much she liked simply having Heather close by.

Lea was in the middle of rambling about whether or not she liked her new personal yoga instructor when Naya glanced over at the house and spotted Heather through the window. She could see her blonde hair pulled up in a bun, bobbing up and down as she bounced through the house and excitedly made her way from the front door to a small hallway off behind the kitchen. Naya instantly smiled and then caught sight of the colorful bag Heather had in her hand. Curious, she made her way into the house to follow her.

From the dark hallway, Naya rounded the corner and leaned up against the doorframe of the laundry room to see Heather standing in front of a large sink and stretching a small plastic bag trying to rip it open. She pulled too hard and the bag sprung open. A handful of colorful balloons burst out, flying all over the room. The girls busted up laughing.

Naya crouched down to pick up some of the little uninflated balloons on the ground. "You joining the circus without me?" she chuckled.

"I found water balloons at the store. Chord and Cory got Super Soakers," Heather said with a mischievous grin as she placed a few loose balloons back in the bag. "We're gonna sneak attack everyone who hasn't gotten in the pool yet."

"So Lea," Naya stated as she stood up.

"Yup!" Heather shook head up and down with a wide smile.

"She's gonna be so pissed," Naya chuckled again. "Count me in." She took the few balloons in her hand and went to the sink so she could start filling them up with water.

Just as Naya began fitting the plastic balloon around the lip of the faucet, Heather jumped over to the door and quickly shut it. Then she leapt back over to Naya and wrapped her arms around her from behind. "But first..." Heather whispered in her ear. She placed a kiss on Naya's bare shoulder, and another at the crook of her neck, and then another just behind her ear. "You know how hot you look in your bikini, right?"

Naya could feel Heather's lips smiling against the shell of her ear and it made her grin effortlessly.

Heather slid her hands across the slick surface of Naya's stomach. Her skin was damp and smelled a bit like chlorine but Heather didn't care. Her tan skin was so inviting. Heather had been waiting all day to touch her like this. She was happy to take a minute to indulge in the opportunity.

"You're such a tease," Heather devilishly whispered in her ear once again.

Naya let out a little chuckle. "Oh really? Miss 'I'll-just-bend-down-right-in-front-of-you-so-you-can-check-out-my-ass.'"

"I knew you were checking me out," Heather giggled and started sucking on Naya's ear.

Dropping the unfilled water balloon in the sink, Naya's eyes rolled back and shut as she leaned back into Heather. "Couldn't resist," she tried to say as a little hum of pleasure escaped her throat. The warm breath in her ear made her whole body tingle.

"Mmm," Heather's lips popped as they detached from Naya's ear. She had been sucking on it like it was her favorite candy. "You have the most amazing ears. They're perfect."

Naya's lips curled upward once again. "Of everything to choose from, you like my ears the best?"

"No, I can think of about a million different things I like about you." Heather twirled her around so they were facing each other. "Half of which are body parts," her eyebrows bounced upward in a giddy and suggestive quirk. Just from looking into those brown eyes she could see how turned on Naya was.

"Well I'd show you which parts of your body I like best..." Naya's voice was low and lustful. She pressed one hand against the taut muscles of Heather's abs while the other hand slid around her waist and down over her ass. "But then we'd be stuck in this laundry room all day."

Heather smirked and brushed their lips together as she slid her hands up Naya's back. "And we wouldn't want people getting the wrong idea, right?" With a quick flick of her fingers she undid the clasp at the back of Naya's bikini top.

"Certainly not." Naya couldn't hold back anymore and pressed her lips to Heather's.

Heather reciprocated, kissing her like she was starving to taste her. She tugged up on Naya's bikini top, pulling it off her shoulders and arms. Then she lifted her up and Naya wrapped her legs around Heather's hips as she tangled her fingers up in her blonde hair, scratching at the back of her neck. Heather spun around and placed Naya on top of the washing machine across from the sink. She dipped her tongue into Naya's mouth as her hand coursed up her tan stomach and up to her breast, tenderly kneading it. Heather absolutely loved how Naya's breasts seemed to fit so perfectly in her hands. She moved down to indulge in that sweet spot of Naya's neck, taking her time to lick, suck and massage it with her tongue and mouth. Naya craned her head to the side, allowing total access while her fingers dragged up Heather's neck and into her hair again.

There was a light thudding sound just outside the door and then, someone's voice. "Hemo, you done with the wa-" The laundry room door swung open. Chord stood in the doorway, wide-eyed and Super Soaker in hand. "Whoa!"

Naya's face flushed red-hot and in a sudden panic she wrapped her arms tight around Heather's neck, pressing her chest to her so she could hide her toplessness.

In most instances Heather would be ecstatic about having her face buried in Naya's chest but this was not one of those instances. She snapped into damage control mode, pulled Naya off the washing machine and set her down, placing herself between Naya and the doorway to block her from view.

Chord shut the door as fast as he could. "Sorry!"

"Shit!" Naya gasped in a startled and hushed tone.

"Uh..." Chord was frozen in place outside the door and yet he became jumpy, his foot nervously bouncing up and down off the floor and running his hand through his hair.

"Fuck! Fuckity fuck!" Naya continued her hushed cursing as Heather stood in front of her, panic stricken. "Where's my top?"

Heather frantically spun around to the door, her eyes darting around the floor for Naya's top. She didn't see it and whipped her head around again, catching site of it on the floor at the other end of the laundry room. She practically sprinted passed Naya for it, picked it up and tossed it over to her.

"S-Sorry. Sorry." Chord kept awkwardly apologizing outside the door.

Because her bikini top was still wet, Naya struggled to get it back on as fast as she could.

Suddenly there was another sound of thudding footsteps coming down the hallway. The girls instantly looked up at each other and froze in a terrified stare.

"Hey man, is Heather done with the balloons?" It was Cory being his casual self as he addressed Chord.

"Uh…um." The girls heard Chord nervously respond. He sounded just as startled and embarrassed as they were. "Um, I don't think the faucet in here works," he said rapidly. His voice was on edge like he was trying to come up with the first excuse he could think of.

"That's weird." Cory sounded so nonchalant, oblivious to the situation he just walked into. "It's probably something easy to fix. Let me take a look at it." Cory took a few more steps toward the laundry room door.

"No," Chord immediately responded as he swiftly stepped in front of Cory, blocking him from entering the laundry room. "No, I uh…" He awkwardly fumbled. "I think she went to use the hose at the side of the house anyway," he quickly recovered.

A wave of gratitude and appreciation began to wash over both Naya and Heather's faces. Chord was covering for them. There was no second-guessing. He just did it. No questions asked.

"Oh Okay," Cory said with indifference. "I'll see if I can find her." He walked back down the hallway.

Once the thudding sound of Cory's footsteps disappeared, the girls both let out a breath they didn't even realize they were holding.

Chord cracked open the laundry room door an inch. "All clear."

Naya rolled her eyes and Heather chuckled. He made it sound like they were part of a top secret C.I.A. mission.

He opened the door a little more and poked his head through, his eyes comically squeezed shut. "Everyone decent?"

Naya rolled her eyes again. "Yes," she chuckled as she turned toward the door.

Chord popped one eye open and saw Heather take a huge, relieving breath like she just had ten pounds of weight lifted off her shoulders. He opened the door and stepped into the laundry room. "I need to be more careful about opening doors at Kevin's place," He joked with a light-hearted smile. "I always catch you two making out." He gave a knowing wink to Naya.

Heather immediately picked up on the casual and light-hearted nature with which Chord regarded them and she began laughing at the truth of his comment. She felt some sense of relief about the potentially worrisome situation that just unfolded. Here she was scared to death that he might negatively pass judgment on them, and yet Chord's body language said the opposite. Yes, it was embarrassing that he caught them making out, but it wasn't anymore embarrassing than if he had walked in on any of his other friends, regardless of gender or orientation.

As the awkwardness deflated from the room, Naya picked up a random rag next to the sink. "Dork," she playfully chucked the rag at Chord's head.

He whipped his head to the side trying to dodge it. "Fugitives," he quipped back and quickly shot water from the Super Soaker at both of their feet before scurrying off down the hallway.

Naya chuckled at his antics and turned back to Heather. They were alone in the laundry room again, but when their eyes re-connected she saw the mixed look on Heather's face; she looked part relieved and part lost like a puppy dog.

This was the second time they'd been caught in the heat of making out by one of their friends, and although each time it turned out to be more comical than consequential, Chord was right on the money with his joking comment. Heather did feel like a fugitive every time they got caught, like she might be sentenced to jail or receive corporal punishment for what she was doing with Naya. She didn't want to feel that way. She didn't even fully understand why she felt that way or how to fix it. It's just how she felt and it hit her like a wrecking ball every time.

Naya sighed, "We kinda suck at this whole hiding thing, don't we?"

"Yeah," the corner of Heather's mouth quirked up, miraculously finding the humor in Naya's comment with a hesitant smile. "I'd say that's an understatement."

Naya gave a light chuckle in response. "C'mon," she nodded her head toward the hallway. "Let's go before someone else walks in on us."

The girls rejoined the party but Heather felt a little off for the rest of the day. There was a nagging feeling that began to burrow its way inside her. Naya felt the same way, even if she didn't outwardly express it as much as Heather. Just this morning they'd discussed their 'game plan' and yet they'd already been caught in a situation they didn't want to be in. They'd gone from ignoring each other to ripping each other's clothes off in a matter of hours. It was as if they were swinging on a pendulum, back and forth from complete debilitation out of fear, to total loss of control over their impulses toward one another.

They were fumbling along trying to fit their new relationship into a public setting without it being 'public,' and it was confusing as hell. However, one thing was clear. If they were going to make it through the weekend, let alone the rest of filming this season, they were going to have to find a way to balance the two.

* * *

"Wah!" _Thud._ Heather tumbled forward off her bed and hit the floor.

"Are you okay?" She could hear her mother's loud and concerned voice through the phone even though it slid a few feet across the wood floor.

She had been lying on her bed with her head dangling down to look under it, searching for a pair of shoes, but she had contorted her body in such a way that she lost her balance and fell forward. "Ow," she silently mouthed to herself as she clutched her head.

After Kevin's party Heather went home to quickly pack a bag for the weekend since the girls were leaving for Naya's parents house the next day. She was in the middle of packing when her mom called. She figured now would be a better time to talk rather than trying to dodge phone calls over the weekend.

She reached for her cell phone and gathered herself to sit on the floor with her back resting against the bed. Maybe she should stop multi-tasking for a second. "Yeah, Mom. I'm fine," she grumbled.

"What were you doing?"

"Uh…" She was stalling, trying to think of something she could've been doing other than packing to spend the weekend with Naya's family. "Nothing. I was just being a klutz," she quickly shrugged the question off.

"Well what was tha-"

"Hey! Are you excited about me coming home for the wedding next month?" She quickly cut her off with a topic she new her mom was dying to talk about.

"Yes!"

Heather rolled her eyes at her mom's instantaneous change in temperament. She could practically hear her jumping with excitement over the phone.

"I just can't wait to see you and Taylor all dressed up together."

"Mom," she said with a tone of reluctance.

Two of her high school friends were getting married back in Arizona, so when invitations were sent out Heather and Taylor decided to be each other's dates to the event. Initially, Heather felt fine about the arrangement but now she felt a little funny about it. They'd made the decision months ago, back when they were pseudo-dating. Now they were only going as friends, which could potentially be an awkward situation, but Heather actually did want to go to the wedding and she didn't feel right just ditching him last minute. The topic had briefly come up in conversation with Naya a few days ago, and although she may have expressed a slight feeling of discomfort about the circumstances, overall she was okay with it. Her trust in Heather won out and they hadn't talked about it much since. But still, it didn't make Heather feel any less uneasy about going to a wedding with her ex when she wasn't single. Plus, Heather had the annoying feeling her Mom was hoping for some sort of romantic reconnection between her and Taylor over the wedding.

"The boy looks good in a tux and you know it," her mother egged her on.

"Yeah, yeah," she passively agreed, trying not to further the topic.

However, for Heather's mom there was nothing more exciting than a wedding. So she reluctantly listened as her mother rambled on about flowers and dresses and a whole manner of wedding topics. Heather wasn't so invested in the conversation and continued packing, providing one-word answers here and there just to let her mom know she was still on the phone.

Finally after twenty minutes her mom slowed her roll on the wedding talk, possibly sensing Heather's disinterest. There was a noticeable lull of dead air in the conversation now and Heather was all done packing. She to say her goodbyes so she could head over to Naya's for the night. But then she heard "Landslide" come on the Pandora station sounding out of her computer and she was reminded of something.

"Oh hey Mom, before I go. Did you catch up on the episodes?" Heather excitedly asked as she zipped up her weekend bag.

"Yes. Yes, I did." Once again, the tone of her mom's voice changed in a flash and now she was the one who sounded disinterested.

"Well, what'd you think?" Somehow Heather was hopeful that her Mom might match her excitement for the recently aired Glee episodes.

"They were nice," her mom politely answered.

Heather's excitement started to deflate but she pressed on. "Well what'd you think of 'Landslide?' You love Fleetwood Mac. I was excited for you to see that number."

"It was fine," her mother coldly responded. "I didn't really like how they used it though. You didn't get to sing very much."

Heather could sense the bite in her mom's voice but shrugged it off with a casual response. "Yeah well, I never get to sing much."

"What I don't understand is the undertones they infused into it," her mom was quick to dismiss the excuse and argue her opinion. "That just ruined it for me. You're just friends. It's a song between friends. They didn't have to go and make it all…what was the word they used? …Sapphic."

"Well," Heather's excitement was now replaced with caution and uneasiness. She started fiddling with her Claddagh ring on her finger. "Well it's Brittany and Santana. I mean that was the whole point. Santana was just trying to express how she feels about Brittany. That's why there's that scene at the end of the episode. Where Santana tells Brittany that she—" her voice cracked for a second and she nervously gulped. "…that she loves her." Suddenly the room felt a million degrees warmer.

"Well that's another thing." Her mom shot back. "First they have you sleeping around with everyone—"

"Mom, you know it's a character, right?" Heather defended herself. "I mean it's not actually me sleeping around with people. It's Brittany."

"Yes, but I still see _you_ on my TV screen and so does everyone else."

"It's called acting, Mom," she rolled her eyes and chuckled a bit, trying to diffuse the increasing tension.

"But they _just_ gave you a proper boyfriend," her mom implored. "I like Artie. He's a nice boy. And now they go and confuse you by making Santana think that she's in love with you and then you have to feel guilty about it? It's incredulous."

"But Mom, Santana _is_ in love with Brittany. They love each other." Heather was surprised at her own confidence in the statement and how quick she was to defend it. She didn't even have to think about it. "That's why it's so tragic when Brittany has to reject her. She can't just ditch Artie. She doesn't believe it's right."

"Well of course Brittany rejects her, because it's just not right." Her mom's voice was starting to become on edge.

"No Mom," she interjected. "She doesn't believe it's right to ditch—"

"Besides," her mom forcibly cut her off. "There's no reason for Brittany to think that she has to go through some sort of phase with her friend. That's the sort of lifestyle decision that girls with low self-esteem make because they don't feel confident enough to find a boyfriend or a husband. Brittany doesn't have that problem. You're pretty and confident and they gave you a boyfriend. Why would Brittany even think about going through a phase like that when Artie could very well be her Prince Charming?"

Her mother's words made her feel like she was the smallest kid on the playground getting poked and shoved by the school bully. But she didn't quite know how to protect herself against any of it "Well what if Brittany's fairy tale is a little different?" Heather tried to argue diplomatically. "What if her Prince Charming turns out to be a Princess? What if Santana is her _Princess_ Charming?"

Her mother made a condescending 'tsk tsk' sound. "Honey, there's a reason why fairy tale stories are always about the Princess finding her Prince Charming. You can't be a Princess without a Prince Charming. It just doesn't work that way."

Heather balled her hand in a fist and squinted her eyes shut. She began rubbing at her forehead in frustration, annoyed that her mom was speaking to her like a naïve child. She wanted to get away from this conversation before it spiraled into something worse. She quickly ended the conversation and hung up as fast as possible, chucking her phone on the bed when she was done.

She stood in her room staring at the floor with her hands on her hips. It took her a minute to realize she was breathing hard, like she'd just got done running. Her blood was boiling and it hurt. She gulped and suddenly felt queasy about the whole exchange. Rather than wallow in this sick feeling balling up in her stomach, she forced herself to mentally shove it to the side, picking up her phone and packed bag from the bed as she left the room in a huff.

* * *

Something was happening on the TV screen, an argument or something, someone cheated on their husband or had an affair or some other brand of bullshittery and now there were a bunch of women in an expensive looking kitchen yelling at each other. That was probably the gist of it, Heather thought. She hadn't been paying much attention to whatever drama these housewives were manufacturing in whatever city they're in. She didn't really care at the moment, but Naya liked watching this stuff so Heather didn't mind. She just stared rather blankly at the TV and zoned in and out while Naya had periodic giggle fits from the ridiculous nature of reality TV.

Feeling Naya's body curled into her and bubbling with hysterical laughter every few minutes was really the only thing that kept her tuned in or distracted from replaying the conversation with her mom, over and over again in her head. Her words, the tone of her voice, her whole demeanor, so condescending, it all reverberated in Heather's head with no way to escape. And that feeling, like she was being picked on by the schoolyard bully, it was an unavoidable pang in the pit of her stomach, except worse because there were hints of disapproval and disappointment to accompany it. Heather had been angry when she got off the phone with her mom, but now that it was stewing inside of her it was turning into hurt. Her normal high energy was low and downtrodden now because of it.

Naya immediately noticed something a little off when Heather had walked in the house earlier that evening, but she figured it was just from everything that transpired at Kevin's today. A little TV and a relaxing night on the couch would help. Obviously it hadn't.

Tracing her fingertips over Heather's leg, Naya looked up at her with curious eyes. "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh?" Heather broke from her zoned out staring contest with the TV.

"You seem a little off. Everything okay?" The timbre of her voice was soft, almost sleepy, but nurturing.

Heather felt kinda bad. It seemed like Naya was constantly asking her if she was okay. Even though her concern was always cute as hell and made Heather feel cherished and cared for, she felt bad that Naya constantly felt the need to ask. Heather didn't know if it was because her feelings were always so helplessly blatant and pronounced, or maybe she only did that with Naya, or maybe it was because they were so in tune with each other that Naya could spot the slightest shift in Heather's feelings from a mile away. Hell, maybe it was a combination of all three.

All of that aside, right now Heather could see those curious and caring, brown puppy dog eyes gazing up at her and they were making her melt. She turned her previous frown into an affectionate little smile and nuzzled her nose against Naya's forehead before placing a kiss there. "Yeah, I'm just tired."

Still, Naya felt like something was off or maybe Heather was holding something in, but it didn't feel right to press any questions at the moment. Maybe Heather just needed to sleep on it, whatever it was that was bothering her. And if she wanted to talk to Naya about it, she would when she was ready.

Naya grabbed the remote and held it out for Heather to take. "We don't have to watch this. I know it's not your favorite. We can watch whatever you want."

She appreciatively took the remote and wrapped her arm a little more comfortably around her.

Naya snuggled in closer, hugging Heather's waist. "I'm getting tired too," she yawned like a kitten as she lay her head on Heather's shoulder.

Heather started running her fingertips along Naya's skin and it didn't take long for her to doze off. However, Heather remained awake and continued to aimlessly flip through channels on the TV. Finally, there was a movie that caught her attention instantaneously, and she abruptly stopped channel surfing.

She hadn't seen this particular movie in years but it was one of her favorites. She could practically recite the whole script when she was a kid. The movie itself made her stop to watch but it was the scene she happened to catch it on that captured her full attention.

_'It's time you learn, Sara Crewe, real life has nothing to do with your little fantasy games. It's a cruel, nasty world out there, and it's our duty to make the best of it. Not to indulge in ridiculous dreams, but to be productive and useful. Do you understand what I'm saying?'_

At this particular moment, Heather couldn't help but feel like she was Sara, getting bullied by the film's antagonist. It sent chills up her spine.

_'Yes ma'am…but I don't believe in it.'_

_'Don't tell me you still fancy yourself a princess? Good God, child, look around you. Or better yet, look in the mirror.'_

The tone of voice this character was using gave Heather a prickly feeling all over her body. Her stomach started knotting with tension. It was the same sick feeling she had earlier. Heather tried to swallow it down as she continued watching the scene.

_'I am a princess. All girls are. Even if they live in tiny old attics. Even if they dress in rags. Even if they aren't pretty, or smart, or young, they're still princesses. All of us. Didn't your father ever tell you that? Didn't he?'_

A tear formed at the corner of her eye and rolled down her cheek. In a flash, Heather very clearly remembered the last time she had watched this movie.

* * *

_The ending credits played in the background on her parents' bedroom TV just as Heather began stirring awake. She was warm and curled up in her parents bed with a blanket around her._

_"Hey, Sleeping Beauty."_

_She heard her father's gentle voice. _

_"You ready for bed?"_

_She stretched her arms out wide with a great big yawn and nodded her head up and down. _

_Practically sleepwalking she shuffled around getting ready for bed and went to the kitchen to get a glass of water. On her way back to her room she saw her dad turning off the last of the lights in the house. "Goo'night, Dad," she sleepily mumbled and turned down the hallway to her room._

_She was just pulling the covers down when her Dad followed her in. "You're not even a teenager yet and I don't get to tuck you in?" He said with a smile as he sat at the edge of her bed._

_"Two more weeks," she climbed into her bed to lay down._

_He grabbed the extra pillow next to her and squished it up to her side and under her arm, knowing that she liked to hug the pillow while she slept. "Well then for two more weeks I get to tuck you in, if I so choose."_

_"Deal," Heather wrapped her arms around the pillow and hugged it close to her chest. "But enjoy your privileges while you can. Cause' when I'm a teenager I'll be too old," she said pointing her finger at him in a flash of precociousness. _

_His kind green eyes softly gazed down at his youngest daughter as the palm of his hand smoothed over her forehead and hair. "You're not old. Not by a long shot." He leaned down to gently kiss her forehead. "Goodnight my little princess," he adoringly whispered._

_She scrunched her nose in minor disapproval. "Dad, I can't dress up like Cinderella anymore. I'm too old to be a princess."_

_He let out a light-hearted little chuckle as he sat upright again. "What is it with you and age?"_

_She gave him a defiant look that said, 'try and tell me I'm wrong.'_

_He sighed and shook his head, then looked back at her with resolve and affection. "You're never too old to be a princess."_

_"Yeah? Even if I go blind and have to walk with a cane and have no teeth?" she joked back._

_"Yep. Especially then," he bounced his finger off the tip of her nose as he smiled down at her sleepy face. Then he looked at her in a way that seemed like he was praying she would never forget what he was about to say. "You'll always be a princess. No matter what." _

_A wide and toothy smile spread across her face as she turned to her side, hugging her pillow and closing her eyes to sleep. Standing from the bed, her father pulled the covers up, and gave her another goodnight kiss as he lovingly whispered, "Goodnight Sleeping Beauty. Sweet dreams."_

* * *

A/N: Aaaand we're back! I'm really sorry for getting out of the loop on this, guys. I kinda let it go to the wayside when life got busy and after not writing for a while. Going back and reading reviews really got me motivated to continue writing again though. So thank you. And thanks for sticking around. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's more to come so stay tuned. :)


	16. Everywhere You Look

**Bold As Love**

**Ch. 16: Everywhere You Look**

The second Naya saw her brother walk through the sliding doors of the arrival terminals at LAX she practically catapulted herself out of the car and ran over to him. With a smile taking up half his face, he dropped his over-sized duffle bag and caught his sister in a great, big bear hug. Heather beamed as she watched through the car window, giving them a private moment for their overdue reunion. She always thought it was cute that they have the same brilliant, wide smile. Though they'd only met a few times, Mychal was excited to see Heather too. He gave her a high five and an enormous hug as she stepped out of the car. He thought it was 'dope' for her to join the family festivities.

The three of them piled into the car and battled through L.A. traffic for the next three hours on their way to Valencia. For the most part, Naya and Mychal spent the car ride catching up on Mychal's college life and Naya's Hollywood life. They were engulfed in two different world's but the way they related to each other with such ease, laughter and open conversation, Heather could see their sibling relationship was more like a lifelong friendship. And then there were the random radio jam sessions, rapping to Tupac, Jay Z, and WuTang Clan, which Heather took full part in. She even showed off some of her beat-boxing skills, which Mychal of course thought was 'dope.' He bobbed his head to the beat as Naya rapped out some improvised verses. Naya had to laugh as she recalled high school when the two of them did these sort of rap-offs in the car every morning as she drove them to school. It was a nostalgic little brother/sister ritual they had and Heather warmed at the experience of being so instantly included.

* * *

The last few remnants of bright orange sunlight dipped below the horizon and into the purple-pink sky as they pulled into Naya's neighborhood. She always referred to her hometown as Pleasantville, and she wasn't kidding. It was an upper-middle class suburban neighborhood with winding roads, impeccably designed homes, front porches and vividly green and manicured lawns where people could leave their front doors unlocked and let their kids run around outside until sundown.

It didn't dawn on Heather until this moment that she had actually never been to the Rivera house. Thus far, all her interactions with Naya's immediate family were contained to L.A.. With a surge of renewed excitement, Heather bubbled in anticipation of all the discoveries of Naya and her family awaiting her.

The Rivera residence was a two-story house in a cul-de-sac at the end of a long street.

Recently re-modeled as a Neo-Mediterranean style home, it had a muted, sun-kissed tan color on the outside with a low-pitched red tiled roof and large windows. The house exuded a quality of rustic elegance balanced with old world charm.

"This isn't the house I grew up in," Naya informed, self-conscious of the type of impression the house could make.

"Yeah, Mom and Dad have been renovating it for like the past four years," Mychal added for Heather's benefit.

Nonetheless, Heather gazed in wonder at the beautiful exterior as they idled down the elongated paved driveway.

A petite, dark haired woman, one of Naya's aunts, was already waiting by the open garage, yelping, jumping up and down, and waving her arm in the air as they pulled to a stop and parked in front of the open garage. The three of them could barely get out of the car before the woman came running up with enormous hugs and a kiss on each of their cheeks. She was so short she practically disappeared in Mychal's embrace, but her exuberant spirit and mega-watt smile, which seemed permanently plastered on her face, was infectious. Heather warmed at the enthusiastic welcome she received from a woman she'd never met. If this type of friendly and open armed reception was any indication of what to expect from the rest of the Rivera clan then Heather was excited to meet them.

They could barely set down their things as they made their way into the house before they were swarmed with a blitz of hugs and kisses from the rest of the extended family. There were Naya's parents and Nickayla, who greeted Heather as if she was already one of the family. Then there was a tall, skinny middle-aged woman, a stout, more round looking man, and another middle-aged man of a muscular, athletic build. All of them had varying shades of dark hair and tan skin. Names were exchanged but Heather was so overwhelmed by the friendly welcome she had a hard time keeping up with who was whom and how they were all related.

Upon hearing all the commotion, two teenage boys hurdled themselves down the large wooden staircase by the front entrance, followed shortly thereafter by two young children yelping and wobbling their way down the stairs. The teenage boys almost immediately pummeled Mychal with tackling hugs, noogies to the head, and affectionate punches to the arm. The two younger children, a boy of seven with shaggy, dark hair and a girl of five with big brown eyes, immediately made their way to Naya, squealing as they wrapped their tiny arms around each of her legs.

Chuckling, Naya smiled sweetly at the two children and ruffled the little boy's hair. The little girl half-hid her face behind Naya's leg but her eyes were wide and intrigued and staring up at Heather. Noticing the attention, Heather mouthed a soft 'Hi' and waved. The little girl giggled and immediately buried her head into the side of Naya's knee.

"Hey, where's my hugs?" Mychal teased at the two younger children after shuffling back from the last of many abrupt greetings from his teenage cousins. He knelt down with his arms wide open and the little boy went running for him.

"Superman!" the boy yelped, which was then echoed by the little girl as they abandoned Naya's legs and ran into Mychal's arms. He curled each arm around their waists and stood up, carrying them above each of his shoulders and spinning around making airplane noises.

"Whoa!" the kids marveled.

"Be careful Mychal," his mother censured.

"Oh let him, Yolanda," the petite woman sanctioned, still wearing her picture perfect smile. "The boy can bench press the couch. He can handle Max and Sophie."

With a wary eye toward his mother, Mychal carefully set the kids down on their feet.

The two teenage boys were considerably more delicate with their hugs for Naya, to which she nudged the younger of the two as if to say, 'you don't have to be gentle just because I'm a girl.'

The older of the boys, had a sly smirk on his face as his eyes moved toward Heather. He smoothly ran his hand through his beach-weathered hair and his brow quirked upward with a glint of excitement. "Hey, who's your friend?"

"Not a chance, Luis," Naya immediately shot back as she crossed her arms.

The smirk left his face as his mouth dropped in a gape toward Naya. "What? I'm just being friendly."

"Try someone your own age," she rolled her eyes, seeing right past his flattery and bravado. "I'm sure plenty of Nik's friends will be here tomorrow."

Just then, Nickayla sauntered up next to Naya, directing some sass toward her cousin. "No way in hell are you hooking up with one of my friends."

Overthrown, Luis shoved his hands in his pockets. "Geez, can't a guy have a little fun?"

Heather was amused with the whole exchange. It was looking to be an interesting if not down right enjoyable weekend at the Rivera house.

After the initial greetings the girls took their things upstairs to Naya's room, which was situated at the top of the stairs and to the left down a hallway that was open faced and looked down into the foyer and living room. Upon entering the room, Naya set her bag down on the bed and rushed off to use the restroom, which was adjoined to Nickayla's room on the right. It gave Heather some time to take in the room in which her girlfriend grew up. Heather was expecting it to be almost like a time capsule of when Naya was a teenager but considering all the renovations to the house it shouldn't have come as a surprise that it was more of a weird hybrid; a guest room with some lingering remnants of Naya's former years.

There was a full size bed with a down comforter centered on the back wall and windows on either side. Next to the door from the hallway was a desk with a swivel chair and a corkboard on the wall with a world map pinned to it. On the desk was a shoebox with photos haphazardly piled in it and a large box with various academic papers and folders, things leftover from when Naya attended junior college.

At the front of the box was a paper with a big red A on it. Heather slipped it out and read the title along with the professors' comments; _Social Media: Business & Marketing in the 21__st__ Century._ _'Creative use of research for supporting thesis,' 'Effective arguments,' 'Well written,' 'A.'_

A sense of pride tugged at the corners of Heather's mouth. "Smarty-pants," she whispered to herself.

She put the paper back and turned to view the rest of the room. On the left wall there was a bookcase with various rolled up posters leaned up on the side of it. On the shelves were knickknacks, books, DVDs, and stacks of old CDs, with a clunky 90's stereo-system sitting on the center shelf. A surge of nostalgia crept up on Heather as she walked over to it. She remembered her own stereo when she was a teenager and how she annoyed her mother and sisters to no end whenever she blasted her music to practice dance moves or just dork out in her room. She wondered how many times Naya did the same except with singing, although, Heather couldn't imagine anyone ever getting annoyed with Naya's voice.

She opened the stereo's six-disc CD changer and found the time capsule she'd been expecting. It was fully loaded with CDs from six artists representative of Naya's childhood and adolescence: Christina Aguilera, Robin Thicke, Alanis Morrisette, Beastie Boys, Radiohead, and Usher.

Naya came out of the restroom to see Heather bubbling with laughter at the open disc changer. She had no clue what embarrassing music could be in there and immediately felt a wave of heat flush her cheeks. "Oh God, I can't even remember the last time I used that thing."

Heather twisted her head back with an approving and toothy grin. "Nothing cringe-worthy. Teenage Naya had some decent taste in music."

Naya walked to the bookcase and stood on her toes to peer over Heather's shoulder. Self-conscious, her eyes fluttered with amusement at the wave of memories flooding her head. "God, I used to sing the crap out of that Christina Aguilera CD."

Heather nudged the CD changer to close and spun around, sweeping her arms around Naya's waist. "I bet you sounded great." She placed a chaste kiss to her girlfriend's cheek.

A tense smile flashed across Naya's lips as she glanced toward the open door of her room. She could see the black iron railing of the second floor hallway that overlooked the downstairs living room and the sound of distant muffled conversations from her relatives in the kitchen. She cleared her throat and quickly turned back to Heather. "Yeah, tell that to Mychal and Nik. I bet they have a different opinion," she joked back trying to cover her wary behavior.

Heather's mouth fell slightly and she dropped her hands from Naya's waist. "Right. Sorry, I forgot."

"No, it's fine." Naya tipped her head toward the doorway. "We just probably shouldn't do that stuff out there." There was a short, awkward silence before she nervously cleared her throat once and crossed the room to other side of the bed, searching to busy herself with unpacking.

Heather followed Naya's lead and hoisted her own bag up onto the side of the bed. For the most part Naya was doing a good job of distracting herself with her menial task, never looking up from her duffle bag. Meanwhile, Heather glanced up every few seconds searching Naya's face. Her brow was slightly furrowed in concentration and there was a noticeable amount of tension lingering at the center of her forehead. Heather knew Naya had caution on her mind but there was a hint of something that made it seem like she was preparing herself to put her guard up or slink into her shell.

_She's over thinking._

Concerned, Heather pursed her lips trying to think of something to distract Naya from the destructive barrage of her own thoughts. After a moment she perked up with an amused smirk. "So Luis?" she casually asked.

"Oh yeah," Naya chuckled in response as she pulled out her toiletry bag. "He's a major flirt. Don't mind him. He's a sixteen year old with raging hormones who just found out he's actually a good looking guy."

Heather giggled. Naya certainly had a comically honest way of describing her cousin.

"Although," Naya stilled and tipped her head to the side, letting her eyes dance up and down Heather's body as if examining a masterful painting. "I wouldn't blame him for taking an interest in you. Us younger Rivera's have a thing for hot blondes with killer blue eyes." She shot a quick wink to Heather and returned to her bag with a clever grin on her face.

Immediately feeling the warmth in her cheeks, Heather began to blush.

_How is it so easy for her to do that to me?_

Even if Naya's priority for the weekend was to have fun while exercising a decent amount of caution, Heather was glad to know Naya was still willing to be flirty and playful in moments of privacy. She felt a giddy fluttering in her stomach and bounced up on her toes as she returned to her bag.

Naya peered up and caught the small reaction, which in turn made her smirk softly spread up to her cheeks.

Knock-knock

Mychal rapped his knuckle against the doorframe, stopping for a moment as he passed by from his room. He seemed to be in an excited rush with a jaunty expression and a wily look in his eyes. "There's a white box on the kitchen counter with our name on it," he nodded toward his sister.

Naya froze and her eyes went wide. "Oh dear god, please yes."

In a flash Mychal disappeared and rushed down the hallway with giddy laughter as Naya sprinted to the doorway and swung around the doorjamb in quick pursuit behind him.

Bemused and yet highly entertained, Heather quirked her brow and curiously followed Naya and her brother downstairs.

* * *

The last swish of Naya's hair rounded the corner from the living room and into the kitchen just as Heather approached the bottom of the staircase. Running and chasing around the house seemed to be a standard practice here. Heather wondered how much grief the Rivera kids caused their mother when they were younger.

Finding herself mostly alone at the moment, Heather was able to take stock of the interior, as she was too distracted to observe when she first arrived. The bottom of the stairs emptied out into a foyer, which opened up into the living room and a formal dining area just beyond that. With the floors made of dark, maple hardwood, the house stretched long but grand and open in its presence. There was no negative space from the front foyer to the back of the house. The rooms flowed straight into each other.

She marveled at the ceiling, which reached high up into the second story boasting large, exposed wooden beams, lending an impressive frame to the open interior. The living room was a vast space with wide windows looking out to the backyard, a large, ornate rug and two extraordinarily comfortable leather couches accompanied by a weathered wooden coffee table. Across from them was a single wall, which seemed to stretch more horizontally than it actually did. Mounted on the wall was a flat screen TV just above a brick fireplace, framed by a sleek entertainment unit. Several black and white framed family photos adorned the side margins.

There were two small archways to the left and right of the wall leading into the kitchen, which had a majestic amount of light emanating from it. There was also a very evident amount of bustle and chatter sounding from the kitchen; the clanking of plates and kitchenware, people laughing, joking and talking over each other in a muddled blend of English and Spanish. Heather got the feeling that although the living room was presented as the perfect host for entertainment, the kitchen was the heart of where everything happened.

Passing under the archway Heather marveled once again at the immense space with its rustic and charming décor. It was a full size kitchen with enough amenities to make Julia Child jealous. There was a long rectangular island in the center, and at the far end of the room sat an oversized, rustic wooden table with a bench on each side and chairs at the heads. Just behind it was another wide window looking out to the backyard. Noticing the details of the room, Heather particularly liked the charm of the blue and yellow mosaic tiles above the sink and stove.

Just as she suspected, the whole family was in the kitchen, thirteen people in all, not including herself. Though everyone was present in only one room at the moment, the whole house felt full and alive with love and laughter. It reminded her of a 90s family sitcom, and she had a small chuckle to herself as the 'Full House' theme song sprung to mind.

By the sheer volume of energy in the room her presence may have gone unaccounted for if it hadn't been for Naya beckoning her over to the other end of the island where most of the younger Rivera's were gathered. The object they were huddled around was a simple white bakery box filled with all manner of little Latin pastries and snacks: croquetas, empanadas, arepas con queso, cuernitos de guayaba, pasteles de carne, and other guava and cheese filled pastelitos.

Mychal poked his head up toward his mother who was at the stove tending to a pot of yellow rice. "Mom, you know I got training coming up right?"

"And I have a shoot next week," Nickayla added.

"Yeah, and Heather and I are back on set Monday," Naya rounded out the trio as she finished the last of her empanada.

"What we're saying is we all have an image to keep up," Nickayla started.

"And these pastries aren't helping," Mychal finished her sentence.

Dismissive of their comments, their mother didn't even look up from the stove. "I'm not the one eating them."

"C'mon Mom. You know the second any one of us sees that white box it's game over," Naya lightheartedly joked as she picked up another pastry from the box.

Mychal eyed Heather from across the island and whispered, "Seriously, these things are like crack," like he was informing her of some top-secret family information.

"Please," Yolanda tipped her spatula up toward the kids. "Between the three of you half the food in the fridge will be gone by 10am. Besides _I'm_ not the one who got pastelitos." She tipped her spatula toward the older petite woman standing at the sink washing dishes. "You can thank your aunt for that."

Mychal made an deliberate smile toward his aunt like he was a grade school boy who got his first A on an exam. "Thank you, Iris!"

"Yeah, thanks mom," Robbie, the younger of the teenage boys, echoed Mychal.

Naya slid a pastry along the countertop toward Heather. "Here, you gotta try these."

Heather picked up the rectangular pastry with a glistening, flaky outer dough and a ruby colored filling seeping out of its sides. She turned it over in her fingers, quizzically examining it as it left a slightly sticky residue on her fingertips

"It's filled with guava. Try it," Naya encouraged her.

Heather had no clue what guava was but she figured it was some type of fruit and at the very least it looked delicious. She took a bite, carefully chewing and turning the flavor over in her mouth, savoring it. The flaky outer crust was good but it was the guava fruit filling that made her eyes light up. Smooth, soft and sweet, in a gooey and juicy kind of way, the taste of it was the perfect balance of pear, mango, kiwi and strawberry combined, like a little piece of paradise. Actually, it reminded her of the way Naya's kisses taste, just the right amount of wonderful.

"You like it?" Naya chuckled, elated with watching Heather's reaction.

Heather took another heaping bite and swallowed with a smile. "I think guava is my new favorite food."

* * *

After a while of milling about the kitchen, stoked in lively conversation and generous amounts of wine, everyone settled into a buffet style dinner. Naya's mom and aunts had really outdone themselves making a delicious home cooked meal. It was enough food for fourteen people, plus leftovers, and they made it seem effortless. George, Naya's father, seemed particularly proud to be hosting such a gathering. During dinner he even commented to Heather, "there are two things that make this house run smoothly: food and wine." To which he received a rather disapproving look of raised eyebrows from his wife, until he corrected himself with saying, "and most of all, you. Of course." Heather had the feeling Naya's dad was the whipped one in that relationship.

Luis made it a point to sit across from Heather, as Naya had taken the seat next to her. The girls shared clandestine looks and secret nudges under the table, amused with Luis's many failed and corny attempts at flattery toward the only non-Rivera at the table.

With the air of the room being rather light and pleasant, it wasn't until about halfway through dinner that Heather noticed something slightly off about Naya. Heather couldn't quite put her finger on it. It wasn't that she was being distant or stand-offish. In fact, she seemed to be having a thoroughly pleasant time with her family. But still, there was something about her demeanor that was just …off, different, restrained even. Heather couldn't be sure if this was simply how Naya was around her family or if something was bothering her, but whatever it was, it's subtlety didn't give Heather too much cause for alarm. Instead of drawing a wild conclusion with almost no real information, she counted it simply as an observation.

After dinner, Luis and Robbie, ran off to the living room to play on the Xbox. Nickayla joined them, mostly for the opportunity to heckle her cousins as they played their games. The little boy and girl scampered off to the study where Naya's mom had a stash of old toys for them to play with, while the rest of the family remained in the kitchen. Naya's mom and her two aunts mostly conversed over a bottle of wine, while the men, Mychal, Naya and Heather enjoyed playing cards at the kitchen table. Rummy was a card game they often played at these family gatherings and it had evolved into something of a competitive sport amongst Naya's dad and uncles.

Sitting next to Heather, Naya could see she was rather entertained with the family flair for competition. She nudged her knee under the table and leaned in to whisper, "Wait 'till you see them play dominoes tomorrow."

Though Heather felt very much included, she spent most of the evening simply listening and observing this tableau of the Rivera family. Naya knew Heather was a curious person by nature, so she didn't mistake Heather's silence as a sign of discomfort. Instead, she let her be, with her roaming eyes and inquisitive mind, staying close by her side most of the night or checking in with a glance here and there.

Indeed, Heather was delighted in putting the puzzle pieces of this family together. Like finding clues in a fantastic riddle, she eventually figured out all their oddball characteristics and relations.

Naya's Aunt Iris, George's sister, was the most ostentatious of the bunch with her bright persona and the squirrelly, frenetic energy of a pinball machine. A petite woman with squinty eyes, mostly because she was smiling all the time, she spoke in a high pitched and squeaky voice. Heather couldn't understand what she was saying half the time, with her fast paced Spanish, but when she switched to English it was with a thick accent and mostly to address the kids or Naya and her siblings. Her cheery disposition was infectious but Heather wasn't fooled. The woman could assert her opinion rather precisely, mostly concerning politics and a few passive aggressive comments urging Naya and Nikayla to be more conservative in their public appearance regarding their line of work. Heather got the impression this woman put forth a lot of effort to seem neutral but was ultimately traditional in her views and hardest on the women of the family.

Heather found it odd that such a boisterous woman as Iris was married to someone like Rick, Naya's muscular and athletically built uncle. He had a solid and proud stance with long, lean muscles, that of a swimmer or a runner. His presence was strong and yet calm and quiet. Heather had the feeling Rick was a good listener, the perfect balance to his wife's endless chatterbox.

Their kids were Robbie, who had just turned thirteen, and Sophie, the little girl with the widest and brightest deep brown eyes Heather had ever seen. Both of them seemed to have adopted some of their mother's disposition, simply looking for fun and a laugh around every corner.

Then there was Iggy, Naya's stout uncle and George's brother. Heather found him to be the most comical of the bunch, his stature reminiscent of a bowling ball, making him waddle more than walk. Speaking mostly in a lazy brand of Spanish, his demeanor was gruff, filled with lots of grumblings and groans. In fact the only time he attempted English was when he addressed the younger kids, suddenly turning playful and innocent, his eyes squinting bright like a little boy. Max and Sophie certainly enjoyed his duck sound impressions and his little 'magic trick' games like pulling a coin out from behind an ear or pretending to steal one of their noses.

Another odd pairing, Iggy was married to Natalie, Naya's tall and fit aunt. She was actually rather beautiful with smooth skin and long flowing, dark silky hair. She carried herself with the confidence and air of a supermodel, speaking both Spanish and English perfectly. Heather eventually figured out that Natalie actually wasn't Hispanic at all and yet somehow had enough exotic features to look it. Iggy and Natalie's kids were Luis, the flirty sixteen year old who kept making eyes at Heather, and Max, the adventurous little boy with shaggy brown hair.

Though Heather found Naya's aunts and uncles to be entertaining, she found Naya's parents to be most intriguing. She'd met them before, several times, but somehow this was different, being in their home and seeing all the details of their life up close. She enjoyed silently picking out all the characteristics they'd passed on to Naya.

Yolanda was somehow constantly busy with some task or another, and yet when someone engaged her in conversation it seemed she was giving them her full attention. She carried herself with a formidable amount of strength, fortitude and conviction, but also kept a calm and even-keeled demeanor. Heather got the sense she was a 'Mama Bear' in the truest sense; quick to diplomatically defend her children against any of Iris' passive aggressive comments, and if there was an emergency Heather had no doubt Yolanda would very well spring into action, knowing exactly what to do with the precision and skill of a surgeon while maintaining the calm serenity of a monk.

George fit with Yolanda like white clouds fit in the sky. With a perpetually gentle smile, he had more of a playful and laid back disposition, reflected in his kind and deep-set eyes, which, despite his glasses, constantly twinkled like a little boy at his first carnival. A good host, having everyone's well being and comfort at the forefront of his actions, he was also a man of knowledge, constantly spouting out interesting factoids and commentary on all manner of subjects without being pretentious, condescending or overbearing about it. Heather got the sense he was a thinker, a man who simply enjoyed intellect, but was also easy to laugh, mostly at himself. One thing Heather found strangely wonderful was the series of brain-buster games and riddles he would continually present to his children and nephews, which they were rather skilled in solving.

_So that's why Naya's so good at figuring out surprises._

Indeed, Heather found the Rivera family to be a fantastic puzzle all on it's own, dynamic and tight-knit with all their charming twists and turns.

* * *

With a victorious grin that made his eyes squint, Iggy placed five cards from his hand on the kitchen table, a full house, and stood from his chair, triumphantly tossing the last card of his hand in the discard pile. Everyone at the table erupted in raucous surprise, bemoaning his victory and an end to the night's final round of the card game.

"I almost had you, Uncle Iggy!" Mychal boasted.

"Claro, pero…" Iggy pointed his finger up like he was about to dispense some critical advice to his nephew. "Never mess with the king. You haven't won until you've won." His accent came out thick, replacing his v's with b's and his y's sounded like j's.

"But you always win," Naya joked to her uncle.

Iggy simply gave a hearty laugh in return as he started piling the deck of cards together.

George organized his cards into a neat stack and placed them on the table. "Well, I'm sure Carlos will give him a run for his money tomorrow."

From across the table, Heather saw Mychal immediately tense up with his shoulders flaring back as he gave Naya a hard side-eye look.

Naya shifted in her seat. "The Carreras are coming tomorrow?" There was a faint quiver in her voice. She was successful in hiding it from her father, but Heather knew better. It didn't escape her notice.

"Of course. Why wouldn't they?" George casually responded as he took his glasses off to clean his lenses with a tissue. "And I think Alex moved back from New York. I wouldn't be surprised if he was here with his parents tomorrow. I'm sure he'll be excited to see you," he pleasantly gestured to his son and eldest daughter.

Mychal, however, was overwhelmingly unpleasant, tossing his cards on the table and roughly sliding out of his bench, decidedly leaving the conversation.

Heather looked to Naya, wondering what the peculiar exchange was about. She didn't even know what to ask exactly, but it didn't matter because Naya's eyes suddenly had a sad and stony quality to them as she watched her brother leave the table. It was arresting and took Heather by breathless surprise to see her eyes so suddenly despondent instead of their normal splendor. Heather's concern darted back and forth between Mychal and Naya as she considered this new and intriguing piece of the puzzle.

* * *

Shortly thereafter, Heather found herself cornered, sitting at the kitchen island deep into a conversation with Iris, chatter-boxing away as usual. Heather didn't want to be impolite and listened diligently as the woman covered an array of topics, bouncing from one to the next with incredible speed. After a while Heather noticed most of the room had cleared out, except for her, Iris and Yolanda, who was towel drying some wine glasses and dinner plates. Suddenly Heather felt a bit out of place, wishing Naya was there as a buffer. Fortunately she didn't have to endure that feeling much longer before Iris finally decided she was tired (either that, or her lung capacity was starting to give out) and bid both Heather and Yolanda goodnight with two kisses each to their cheeks.

As Iris left the room, the house suddenly became serene and quiet, not a stir of sound to be found. Heather felt the first wave of fatigue wash over her as she stood from her chair and walked to the sink where the dry dishes were. She picked up a stack of plates to put away.

"Oh sweetie, you don't have to do that," Yolanda swatted her hand in the air as she set down a newly dry wine glass.

"It's okay. I like to help," Heather's voice was soft with sincerity. "It's the least I can do."

Yolanda regarded Heather for a moment before conceding with an appreciative smile. "Okay." She pointed toward a cabinet above the sink. "Those go on the middle shelf."

Heather smiled back and gingerly set the plates in the cabinet.

"So did Iggy behave himself with the card games?" Yolanda asked as she continued drying the wine glasses. "I saw you played a few rounds. He can get competitive when it comes to his precious dominoes and cards."

Heather thought Iggy to be so entertaining, she had a small laugh at the mention of his name. "Oh, he's great! Your family is really fun."

With another appreciative smile, Yolanda softly chuckled, suddenly taken and fond of Heather's genuine nature. "Well I'm glad you're enjoying yourself."

"And dinner was amazing," Heather added as she put away some of the silverware.

"Just wait until tomorrow. The men like to make a huge production out of the pig roast. They mean serious business."

"It sounds like a sacrificial offering."

"To them, it practically is," Yolanda had a laugh at Heather's creative joke. "For us it's just an excuse for some good food, wine and plenty of dancing."

"Three of my favorite things," Heather grinned from ear to ear. Normally she would have expected some sort of awkward discomfort to creep up on her, being alone with her girlfriend's mother and wary of her own clumsiness to either say or do the wrong thing, but the ease with which she could talk to Naya's mom was refreshing. There was a warmth present that felt strangely enough like home.

Heather put the last of the silverware away, and paused for a moment, watching as Yolanda began putting wine glasses in the cupboard. A feeling of immense gratitude filled her entire being and spilled out into a humble smile. "Thank you for having me here. You've all made me feel really…welcome."

The comment was heartfelt to it's core. Yolanda looked at Heather with a certain sense of dignity and pride, as if the girl were one of her own children. "There's a lot of love in this house," she nodded. "Especially for any of Naya's friends."

There was a hint of something else in the way Naya's mom said 'friends,' but whatever it was, Heather didn't pick up on it. She responded simply with another thankful smile.

Yolanda could see the increasing fatigue glossing over Heather's eyes. "Why don't you get some sleep? It's going to be a busy day tomorrow."

"M'kay," Heather half-mumbled, suddenly feeling the need for sleep wafting over her body. "Well …Goodnight," she said sweetly and turned toward the archway at the other end of the kitchen.

"Goodnight."

Just as Heather was shuffle-stepping under the archway, Yolanda spoke up, like she had forgotten something important. "Heather?"

"Mhm?" Heather turned around.

There was a brief moment of pause as Yolanda's eyes fixed on Heather, steady and intent, regarding her with care and the recognition of something quite special. "I'm really glad you could join us this weekend. I don't think I've ever seen Naya smile so much as when you're around."

A burst of radiating warmth catapulted through Heather's body, flipping around in her belly, bouncing out through her toes and fingers, and emanating through an unapologetic grin and bright, joyous blue eyes.

The feeling of gratitude was reflected in Yolanda's smile and she nodded, knowing Heather understood the full extent of her heartfelt intention. "Get some sleep, sweetie."

* * *

There was an extra bounce in her step as Heather beamed from ear to ear all the way up the stairs. She was about to round the corner, skipping into Naya's room, when she abruptly stopped, seeing a dim light in the open crack of Mychal's bedroom door and a soft, sweet sound, the prettiest, coming from the room. She tiptoed down the hallway, quiet as a mouse, and leaned against the doorframe, peering in.

Just as she thought her heart couldn't kindle anymore, it did. She saw Naya sitting upright against the headboard of the full size bed with Max and Sophie sound asleep and curled up on both sides of her. Their little legs and arms were splayed out over her body in a tangled mess, hugging her like she was their favorite stuffed animal. With a bedside nightlight splashing a lukewarm glow about the room, Naya looked resplendent, combing her fingers through Sophie's light brown hair, gazing down at Max and Sophie's sleepy faces, and tenderly singing a down-tempo, lullaby version a familiar song.

"_There's nothing you can do that can't be done._

_Nothing you can sing that can't be sung._

_Nothing you can say, but you can learn how to play the game._

_It's easy."_

Abandoning all hope or want for anything more perfect, Heather felt her own heartbeat resonate in Naya's voice, soft and steady and deep with soul.

"_Nothing you can make that can't be made._

_No one you can save that can't be saved._

_Nothing you can do but you can learn how to be you in time._

_It's easy._

_All you need is love._

_All you need is love._

_All you need is love, love._

_Love is all you need."_

Heather absentmindedly pressed her palm to her chest, just over her heart, and water began to glisten her eyes. Without reservation, she unabashedly adored the scene before her.

_Naya's going to be a great mom one day._

Just as if she had said her thoughts aloud, Naya looked up to see Heather's lustrous blue eyes, wide with wonder and sparkling like gems, peering through the crack in the doorway. Naya flashed a luminous smile before gazing down at Max and Sophie once again, finishing out her lullaby.

'_All you need is love._

_All you need is love._

_All you need is love, love._

_Love is all you need.'_

With the utmost care, she expertly untangled herself from their pretzel of arms and legs, grabbed a large quilt from the trunk at the foot of the bed and blanketed their bodies, tucking them in. She bent down at the bedside, smoothing Max's shaggy hair out of his eyes before kissing his forehead, and then Sophie's.

"Goodnight, little ones," she whispered, soft as a breeze. "Sweet dreams."

Naya tiptoed out of the room, gently shutting the door behind her.

* * *

Just after Naya shut the door to her own bedroom she felt a tug on her hand. Heather drew her into the center of the room, embracing her around the waist and holding their bodies close together.

"That might be the sweetest thing I've ever seen," Heather's voice was low and intimate as she brushed her nose against Naya's.

A silent giggle caught in the back of Naya's throat, her senses overwhelmed by Heather's spirited verve, gleaming blue eyes, and the nearness of her.

Heather nipped at Naya's nose and pecked the dimple of cheek before painting their lips together, deep and good, having missed her touch all evening.

With a relieving sigh, Naya melted into Heather's lips. She then threaded her arms around Heather's torso and cuddled her head to the top of her chest. They stood there for long moment, basking in the warm and wonderful, splendid quiet of simply being alone together.

Naya didn't realize how exhausting it would be trying to keep herself in check. She had been doing it all evening with her mind on overdrive since they picked Mychal up from the airport. The past few weeks with Heather had been nothing short of a fairytale. For the most part, they could throw caution to the wind, indulging in impetuous and reckless bliss. But that was also time spent mostly to themselves in the safe haven of Naya's bungalow house or carefully chosen venues of discretion.

Now, the world outside of them was making itself increasingly known. Between their close shave at Kevin's party, minding her family, and their return to set on Monday hurdling towards them like a cannonball, trying to manage their existence in that world while keeping their fairytale alive felt like a thousand pinpricks all over her body. As a reflex, her logic began to rear its ugly head, advising her to hold back, always thinking before reacting, and willing herself to exercise restraint. She knew if she didn't her feelings for Heather would be written all over her face and riddled in her behavior like a grand announcement on the front page of the New York Times. That might not be so much of a problem if Naya had even just an ounce of trust in the world. But she didn't, and therefore was not willing to risk even a sliver of opportunity for the type of social upheaval that could permanently cloud their fairytale land with a thunderstorm.

So, in the interest of preservation and protection, Naya carefully kept her mask up, exerting her control and suppressing her impulses in an effort to keep her vast and overpowering feelings hidden and at bay. Though Heather could effortlessly and undeniably see straight through that mask no matter what the circumstances, it was only when Naya found herself alone with Heather, like right now, that most of those walls could come crumbling down. However, the constant exertion of such an effort was taxing to say the least.

Feeling Naya's tired body sinking further into her, Heather patted the small of Naya's back and cooed in her ear, "Let's get some sleep."

They went through their nightly routines and shuffled into bed. Heather covered the blanket over them, pulling it just above Naya's shoulder, as they lay close and facing each other. Naya's face was slack with fatigue but she resolved to stay awake for as long as she could, if only to spend one more minute alone with Heather, knowing there wouldn't be much opportunity for it in the coming days.

"Did you have a good time tonight?"

"Mhm," Heather nodded, a sleepy grin tugging up at her lips. "Dinner was yummy."

"Mom's cooking never disappoints."

"What was that shredded steak thing we had? I heard your aunt say it earlier. Ropes and something?"

Naya busted up snickering. "Ropa Vieja," she corrected with a Spanish accent, rolling the initial R with the perfect trill of her tongue.

"Rrr," Heather attempted, but it came out singular and flat, instead of a rolling trill.

Naya giggled at Heather's dedicated attempt. "Put your tongue at the roof of your mouth. Like this," she demonstrated.

Heather obliged, carefully placing her tongue at the roof of her mouth.

"Mhm," Naya nodded, encouraging her. "Now blow air out."

Heather did as instructed but it came out with a sputter. She scrunched her nose in disapproval of her own failed attempt.

Seeing that sleepy and scrunched up, goofy face made Naya's heart melt just a little bit more.

_Could you be any more perfect?_

She giggled once again as she nipped her fingers at Heather's belly button. "You almost had it!"

"Can you do it again? You're good at it."

A clever thought flashed through Naya's head, reflected in her suddenly mischievous eyes. She leaned up and over, her mouth hovering just above Heather's ear. "Like this," she whispered. "Rrrrrrr…" she purred, her R's fluttering one right after another.

At the sound, Heather's eyes rolled back in pleasure and a flurry shot through her core from the warm sensation around the shell of her ear. She cupped Naya's waist and rolled her on to her back, tickling her. "Not fair!"

In a fit of giggles, Naya clutched at Heather's wrists, totally unapologetic for her teasing.

After a few seconds, Heather stopped her tickling and rolled back to lay on her side again, watching as Naya caught her breath. She stilled her palm against Naya's stomach, running her hand just underneath the helm of her shirt, smoothing her fingers across her skin.

After finally grasping a breath that could fill her lungs, Naya's head dropped to the side and onto the pillow, blissfully exhausted and gazing into Heather's glistening, ocean blue eyes, which felt more like home than anything else.

"I really did have a good time tonight, Naya," Heather remarked with sincerity.

"Yeah?" Naya's voice was light and airy as sleep began to take hold. "My family's not too crazy?"

"They're not so crazy. I like them." Heather's voice was starting to match Naya's, but her eyes remained fascinated, dancing all over Naya's face, picking up every detail. "I like seeing where you come from." Heather lifted her fingers to lightly trace over the fatigue ridden, crinkled corner of Naya's eye. "I like seeing your eyes twinkle, just like your dad's."

That brilliant, bright smile spread up through Naya's cheeks.

Softly humming, Heather continued, tracing her fingers down her swollen cheeks and over the corner of Naya's lips. "And that you have your mom's smile."

Helplessly, a little laugh bubbled up from Naya's lips.

"But your laugh…," Heather said conclusively. "Your laugh is all you. Undeniable, beautiful you."

There she was, being more perfect that Naya could ever dream her to be. The way Heather was so attentively studying her, cherishing her, never had Naya felt so deeply cared for or so dearly held. A rare and formidable feeling, close in nature to that of the sublime, began to swell in Naya's chest, like the tide coming in or a brilliant strike of lightning. It was so overwhelming she could almost cry.

_I love you_.

The thought rang clear and true in her head. Nothing could be more true. She thought it a thousand different times over the past few weeks, but she didn't dare say it.

Three simple words and a million different excuses for why she couldn't say it, all of them distractions from the real reason. It was the same reason she nearly collapsed filming the Hurt Locker scene. It was the same reason she never let those words pass her lips every waking moment with Heather. And it was the same reason she didn't dare say it now.

The moment was too perfect. This feeling was too perfect. She didn't trust in saying something so silly, scary and risky as 'I love you.'

Instead, she curled her arm around Heather, drawing their bodies close, and kissed her, profound and deep with her thoughts quivering just at the edge of her lips.

* * *

**A/N: I figured the majority of you would know the song used in this chapter but just in case you didn't, here's the link. Just put youtube in front of it:**

** watch?v=wtS4ef0vqhU**

_**All You Need Is Love**_** by The Beatles**

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter. A special thanks to all you wonderful readers who've stuck with this story and to all the reviewers for your unwavering kindness and support. Your encouraging words keep motivating me to write. Basically, you're awesomesauce. Next up, Day 2 at the Rivera house. I can't wait for you all to experience it! **


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